Posted on 09/04/2009 5:33:47 PM PDT by Kaslin
In the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, I was taught to believe individual pursuits are selfish and sacrificing for the collective good is noble.
In kindergarten we sang songs about Lenin, the leader of the Socialist Revolution. In school we learned about the beautiful socialist system, where everybody is equal and everything is fair; about ugly capitalism, where people are exploited and treat each other like wolves in the wilderness.
Life in the USSR modeled the socialist ideal. God-based religion was suppressed and replaced with cultlike adoration for political figures.
The government-assigned salary of the proletariat (blue-collar worker) was 30%-50% higher then any professional. Without incentive to improve their life, professionals drank themselves to oblivion. They — engineers, lawyers, doctors, teachers — earned a government-determined salary that barely covered the necessities, mainly food.
Raising children was a hardship. It took four to six adults (parents and grandparents) to support a child. The usual size of the postwar family was one or two children. Every woman had the right to have an abortion and most of them did, often without anesthesia.
There is a comparative historical reality that plays out the consequences of two competing ideologies: life in the USSR and in America. When the march to the worker's paradise — the Socialist Revolution — began in 1917, many people emigrated from Russia to the U.S.
In the USSR, economic equality was achieved by redistributing wealth, ensuring that everyone remained poor, with the exception of those doing the redistributing. Only the ruling class of communist leaders had access to special stores, medicine and accommodations that could compare to those in the West.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...
Thank you for this very inspiring piece. My mother’s family was russian and migrated to Argentina after the czar was killed, etc. She moved to America by herself, and here I am today - first American generation with a large appreciation for what my mom endured and achieved. We are blessed indeed......... as of today.
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Socialism has bankrupted and failed every society, while capitalism has lifted more people out of poverty than any other system. BTTT...this article is a MUST READ. |
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Required reading.
sent...to my (great) Congressman Bill Posey and all on my mail list. Went to Cong. Posey’s Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday.. great crowd (2500,) very respectful, No hecklers, nobody said anything good re/ Obama plan. All in all it was our Republic at it’s best. Now we’ll see what comes out of DC!
“envy is the driving force of socialism”
That’s a quotable quote.
Nice read. Worth bookmarking.
THERE ... FIXED IT!
How I wish those who have lived under Communism were given a greater exposure to today’s mind-numbed Americans - those who listen only to ABC, NBC, CBS yada yada yada.
Yes, it is those who have lived without freedom who treasure it the most. We have much to learn from them! God bless them for being here and making this country that much better.
While my first impulse is to nod approvingly at this "great American success story", I can't escape a sense of unease about it. The author of this article mentions how the sons and daughters of successful immigrants such as your friends are failing to learn the lessons of their parents and are beginning to fall for and repeat the failed ideas of socialism.
I wonder if your friends gave any thought to the fact that the academic environment at Harvard is one of the worst promulgators, incubators and sources of indoctrination of all those failed and murderous socialist ideas which they left Russia to escape. I sincerely hope that the son they so proudly settled in at Harvard emerges unscathed as a man who still has those ideals they tried to teach him.
I totally agree with you. I was very pleased when the parents expressed alarm at the path our nation has headed lately. They were Refuseniks so I suspect culturally the statistics fall in with your doubts.
What a cogent, simply stated article. Thanks for posting it!
"When I came to America in 1980 and experienced life in this country, I thought it was fortunate that those living in the USSR did not know how unfortunate they were.
Now in 2009, I realize how unfortunate it is that many Americans do not understand how fortunate they are. They vote to give government more and more power without understanding the consequences."
You’re welcome
Bump
You’re confirming my observation and that of MANY others: Socialism hasn’t worked ANYWHERE and thugs are now trying to force it on Americans.
Showcase of Communism: North Korea. The party wonks ride in air-conditioned limos while the people eat grass in the summer. Dunno IF they eat in the winter.
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