It is astonishing that Communism has been writing about itself in the most open way, in black and white, for 125 years, and even more openly, more candidly in the beginning. The Communist Manifesto, for instance, which everyone knows by name and which almost no one takes the trouble to read, contains even more terrible things than what has actually been done. It is perfectly amazing. The whole world can read, everyone is literate, yet somehow no one wants to understand. Humanity acts as if it does not understand what Communism is, as if it does not want to understand, is not capable of understanding.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Warning to the West


To do evil a human being must first of all believe that what he’s doing is good, or else that it’s a well-considered act in conformity with natural law. Fortunately, it is in the nature of the human being to seek a justification for his actions.

Ideology – that is what gives evil doing its long-sought justification and gives the evildoer the necessary steadfastness and determination. That is the social theory which helps to make his acts seem good instead of bad in his own and others’ eyes, so that he won’t hear reproaches and curses but will receive praise and honors. That was how the agents of the Inquisition fortified their wills: by invoking Christianity; the conquerors of foreign lands, by extolling the grandeur of their Motherland; the colonizers, by civilization; the Nazis, by race; and the Jacobins (early and late), by equality, brotherhood, and the happiness of future generations.

Thanks to ideology, the 20th century was fated to experience evildoing on a scale calculated in the millions. This cannot be denied, nor passed over, nor suppressed. How, then, do we dare insist that evildoers do not exist? And who was it that destroyed these millions? Without evildoers there would have been no archipelago.

(The Gulag Archipelago, Volume 1)



" A Communist system can be recognized by the fact that it spares the criminals and criminalizes the political opponent." ~ Alexander Solzhenitsyn

This is mostly true for everybody, not just communists.

"To do evil a human being must first of all believe that what he’s doing is good, or else that it’s a well-considered act in conformity with natural law. Fortunately, it is in the nature of the human being to seek a justification for his actions."

Smart and effective leaders can manipulate well meaning people to do almost anything. Very few people, maybe no people, really consider everything they should.




Keith

Communism in America is a ridiculous thing to worry about. Where do you guys get this stuff?

I know a young man who's an actual avowed Communist. No one, not even liberals, listens to him. He's harmless.

Jim

A country's political system can change very quickly. 94 million people have died under communist governments.

I don't think communism is likely to take over in America anytime soon though. We are definitely seeing a rapid decline in freedom in the US.

Keith

What freedoms have you lost?

Jim

Free and fair elections, for one...before you say, "give me proof" I counter with, "give me disproof!"

The two freedoms that bother me the most personally are.

The freedom to catch and sell turtles, tadpoles and snakes to the pet trade in Ohio.

The freedom to burn brush and other debris.

I don't like that snakes over 12', piranhas, crocodillians, primates larger than a spider monkey, carnivores larger than a coyote, exotic hoofed mammals and many other animals can no longer be just kept.

Keith

Communism-Progressivism

Tomatoes, tomatoes

Same thing

Modern society is hypnotized by socialism. It is prevented by socialism from seeing the mortal danger it is in. And one of the greatest dangers of all is that you have lost all sense of danger, you cannot even see where it's coming from as it moves swiftly towards you.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn


Of course in the present situation the Communists have to use various disguises. Sometimes we hear words like "popular front," at other times "dialogue with Christianity." For Communists a dialogue with Christianity! In the Soviet Union this dialogue was a simple matter: they used machine guns and revolvers.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Warning to the West



All Communist Parties, upon attaining power, have become completely merciless. But at the stage before they achieve power, it is necessary to use disguises.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Warning to the West




I am not a critic of the West; I am a critic of the weakness of the West. I am a critic of a fact we can't comprehend: how one can lose one's spiritual strength, one's will power and possessing freedom, not value it, not be willing to make sacrifices for it.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Warning to the West




You have to understand the nature of Communism. The very ideology of Communism, all of Lenin's teachings, are that anyone who doesn't take what's lying in front of him is a fool If you can take it, do so. If you can attack, strike. But if there's a wall, retreat. The Communist leaders respect only firmness and have contempt for persons who continually give in to them.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Warning to the West

Semantics.
For now, I prefer to use terms like statist/collectivist, coerced collectivism etc...
I remember when Gorbachev introduced reforms and the hard-core communists were referred to as conservatives, when they were actually the polar opposite of what Americans would have considered conservative.
Today, liberals are the polar opposite of Jeffersonian liberals.
Contemporary conservatives are actually Jeffersonian liberals.

“Thieves of private property pass their lives in chains; thieves of public property in luxury and riches.” Cato the Elder

BEST QUOTE EVER.
How did I live this long without hearing or seeing this?

All the rules you complain about have been in place in Alaska for decades. Sometimes they used to let us burn, but not in times of fire danger.

Those two wildlife rules are to prevent the introduction of non-indigenous animals into the state. Or would you rather see Ohio go the way of Florida?

Ohio was an outlier, an anachronism, if it allowed those animals to be traded, sold, or kept.

Jim

They are still freedoms I lost.

The purpose of those 2 rules was not to prevent the introduction of those animals to the state. The turtles, tadipoles and snake species I caught and sold have been here longer than people. They are native to Ohio. They were and are all common and at no risk of dying out in Ohio anymore than raccoons and opossums are. The rules were proposed and pushed by the animal rights supporters, PETA being the main proponent, because they don't want people to own animals. It's sad to see a trapper support regulations created and supported by our enemies

Keith

I guess that proponents of centralized control love a one size fits all approach even if one size doesn't fit anyone.

Last election was stolen, and this one is being altered/tampered with right in front of our eyes right now.

If you believe that, why bother to vote?

Jim

Ya can't deny it

Here's a quote for you Warrior

Fool me once,shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.

If your vote really mattered , do you think they would let you vote?

Why would anyone want to enslave a turtle ?