Jehovah speaks!
Will never forget how enraged the audience at Harvard became when he spoke those words. It was as if someone was dripping acid directly into their brains. Their behavior no doubt inspired the famous dictum a few years later that “you can’t handle the truth”. Today those same people and their ilk can’t even handle listening to an alternative argument that does not fit their narrative. Solzentsn was a man of great physical and intellectual courage. He fought the Nazis, loved Russia and its cultural heritage, spoke the truth to the Party bosses and even earned their respect and admiration. Pity that his books are not read by young Americans who sadly are embracing the decadence of those Harvard fools.
Later for SURE
“First Circle” is one of the greatest books I have ever read, and that is a lot. AS rates up with Dickens, Austin, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Melville for insight into our souls.
He watched as Russia went through the Holocaust of Communism.
Dostoevsky pointed to the same human depravity as being the source of our problems. It doesn’t matter how society is organized it cannot overcome this flaw in humanity.
I just finished “The Devils” (”Demons” or “The Possessed”) which examines these themes in Russia around 1865. He traced all the Evil of those times to Westernizing influences that at their root were atheistic. Within this hothouse Nihilism got its foothold.
The Ruling Class had turned against the society it profited from and no longer had faith in it or anything associated with it. Russians of that time were Nuts in about every direction.
Bureaucratization was a major reason for the collapse of the Roman Empire. Its citizens were so weak they could not even preserve its army, formerly the greatest in the world, and had to hire barbarians to be the Empire’s military.
Czarist Russia was a madhouse run by an idiotic system and under the Soviets it was worse. There was no real law there, everything was arbitrary.
Pastor Bill,
Thanks for posting this. It’s a good summary of key points in the speech.
Listening to Jordan Peterson by podcast these days I have heard him mention the Gulag as a very important book. And we must be sure to keep Solzenitsyn’s wisdom alive in our times.
There’s great power in the content of this speech. However, as I’m sure you noticed as you studied the speech, Solzhenitsyn’s text is academic, cumbersome to read, and doesn’t flow well to the average American’s ear.
So when I have some spare time, I thought I might try editing the speech somewhat.
What say ye to that idea?
Solzhenitsyn's right - this explains how Deep State denizens can 'give speeches' for half a million and NOT see it for what it is - a bribe.
Yes, Bill Clinton accepted a bribe from Russia. They knew it, the folks in flyover knew it, and most of the world knew it. Washington DC didn't because Bill Clinton wore red socks, turned toward the west 5 times while whistling "Dixie" backwards.... (Letter of the Law BS)
It also explains why the FBI and DOJ who should be freaking out about Hillary selling 20% of our uranium for obvious bribes don't appear to care.. THE DEEP STATE HAS MOVED "LETTER OF THE LAW" INTO THE REALM OF ACCEPTANCE OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IF SILLY DOTS ARE DOTTED AND TWISTED TEES CROSSED.
It why the people in flyover are screaming 'LOCK HER UP' and the FBI is yawning. Solzhenitsyn - as always - gets it.
Great post. Great article. Great author. Great Christian.
Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer was also pointing out these exact things back in the 70’s.