A former communist prison under dictator Ceausescu Photo: Ileana Johnson 2015 |
Recently Bernie Sanders was asked the
following question during a townhall meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire, by a
Harvard student, Samantha Frankel-Popell, whose father had fled the former
Soviet Union.
“My father’s family left
Soviet Russia in 1979 fleeing from some of the very same socialist policies
that you seem eager to implement in this country.” She followed up with the
question, “How do you rectify your notion of Democratic socialism with the
failures of socialism in nearly every country that has tried it?”
Bernie replied, "Thank you for asking that question,” before continuing
with a question himself. “Is it your assumption that I supported or
believe in authoritarian communism that existed in the Soviet Union? I don’t. I
never have, and I opposed it. I believe in a vigorous democracy." https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bernie-sanders-socialism-harvard-student
He cleverly tried to skirt her question
by denying that he promotes soviet style socialism. Yet a video exists of him
praising Soviet socialism/communism and its achievements: the public
transportation system, the clean and artsy metro stations with crystal
chandeliers, cheap tickets to museums and concerts, and the infamous “cultural palaces”
of the young pioneers, with total indoctrination by the communist party
apparatchiks. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+video+bernie+sanders+praising+soviet+accomplishments&view=detail&mid=50A4BDC800730CFFF75F50A4BDC800730CFFF75F&FORM=VIRE
I rode the public transportation
system a younger Bernie Sanders is praising. The buses were old, rickety, with
holes in the floorboard, allowing for choking fumes to come in. The trams, metro
trains, trolleybuses, and rusty railroad trains were smelly and filled-to-capacity. Riders were squashed like sardines.
Few could afford to purchase or own
cars. It wasn’t just coming up with the money to buy an overpriced domestic vehicle
and being placed on the long waiting list for years. It also depended on how
well you were scored or regarded by the local Communist Party and the local
Economic Police which made sure that nobody owned anything in excess of what
they needed in order to be more easily controlled.
Schools gave grades for students’
behavior each semester and parents were chastised publicly in front of other
parents if their children behaved in any un-socialist/un-communist way that
strayed from the communist party’s collectivist rules of brainwashing.
No matter how you try to repackage
socialism, Bernie, or how the liberals controlling the web twist the definition
of socialism in order to confuse the useful idiots, in Marxist theory socialism
is a transition state between the overthrow of capitalism and the implementation
of communism. Democrat socialism is the P.C. definition of a system that robs
people of initiative, independence, their worth, their wealth, and their
creativity.
Using Nordic countries as examples of
successful models of socialism is dishonest if not a flat-out lie. The means of
production are not owned by the government in these countries, as is the case
under socialism, they are owned by private companies. The government is
socialistic in nature as it hands out generous welfare to the masses, welfare
derived from heavy taxation of private companies and citizens.
Under socialism (see Cuba, North
Korea, and Venezuela), the proletariat masses have no choice but to accept the
crumbs that trickle down from the benevolent government ruled with an iron fist
by the Central Committee of the Communist Party.
Salaries are very small and everything
must be subsidized by the government which in turn rations everything, food,
toilet paper, electricity, water, and everything else Millennials take for
granted in this country, not realizing that their abundant lifestyle is
provided by the laws of supply and demand of free market capitalism.
I was a child under socialism and a
young pioneer. Membership was not voluntary;
we were forced to be pioneers as part of our school curriculum. We attended
plays, puppet shows, and movies that glorified the dear leader and his wife or
taught us how to be good little socialists/communists. The cultural palaces for
art, music, and theater, were organized places to keep young pioneers on the
right track to communism.
The cost of entertainment was free or
minimal, as Bernie Sanders said, $1.50. But $1.50 may have been cheap to the
mind of an American like Bernie Sanders, but it was a deceptive cost since socialist/communist
salaries determined by the government ran on the average $50 per month
depending on the occupation. Miners, for example, were paid a little more as
their jobs were very dangerous.
Bernie, I can tell you with 100
percent certainty that life under socialism and communism was miserable. There
is a good reason why there are so many of us who fled socialism/communism at
great risk to our lives, leaving everything dear behind, family and wealth, to
escape to the “free” west, specifically to the United States. Nobody in his
right mind runs away from a good situation.
People are not free under socialism,
Bernie. The government keeps the population imprisoned within its borders with
barbed wire and soldiers armed to the teeth and ordered to shoot anyone who
tries to escape across the border.
Socialists and communists were not
very good environmental conservationists. Towns and nearby rivers were so
heavily polluted that it only took a small spark to set a river on fire. The
soot fell thick on everything and the laundry drying on the line turned from
white to grey in mere hours.
The young pioneer clubs, Bernie, were
indoctrination mills that raised compliant citizens and future communists.
Schools and universities were places of heavy indoctrination and grooming for conformity.
Universities were free but places were limited, and the progeny of the higher
placed communist elites were admitted first.
Everyone was paid equally, there was
no incentive to excel, and to be the best. There was no middle class at all,
only the working class and the communist elites. Theater, puppetry shows,
television, and movies were all subsidized by the government and had to meet
their standards and criteria for communist indoctrination.
Soviet metro was and still is
beautiful, with works of art but was built at the expense of cheap labor and
exploitation of the proletariat who was told that they owned everything
collectively. Nobody could demand a piece of this ownership ever, lest they be
arrested for bourgeois demands and democracy having gone to their heads.
According to PraegerU, Bernie Sanders
the socialist won more votes from Millennials during the presidential primary
than Donald Trump and Hillary combined.
“The
majority of Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) identify as
socialist.
Nearly 70% of
Millennials support a government-funded, “Medicare-for-all”
healthcare system. Our kids and grandkids aren’t learning that America is a
land of opportunity, a defender of freedom around the world, and a source of
pride. Instead, they’re being taught that America is a land built on racism and
imperialist oppression.” And more than 50% of Millennials also support the
radical “Green New Deal,” which is neither new, nor green, and not a deal for any
free society with a thriving economy, it is global communism.
https://secure.giveworks.net/prageru/national_petition_to_re/GOP7151
https://secure.giveworks.net/prageru/national_petition_to_re/GOP7151
Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Home
Depot, spoke against socialism and explained how the free market system has
lifted so many people out of poverty.
He said, “Young people especially have
been indoctrinated into believing that free enterprise is immoral because it
enriches the greedy and depresses the poor. Even the word ‘capitalism’ is not
politically correct to use, but the reality is that the free market system has
created the biggest middle class population in the world and, while some may
say socialism is well-intentioned, the fact is it robs people of their
independence, their dignity, and their finances leading to government
dependence, suppression of ideas, and lower standards of living for those under
its thumb.https://therightscoop.com/it-pains-me-to-see-people-in-this-country-glorifying-socialism-co-founder-of-home-depot-speaks-out-against-socialism/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRightScoop+%28The+Right+Scoop%29
And,
should you still heed Bernie Sanders’ praise of socialism and decide to vote for
his manufactured Democrat Socialism, be prepared to eat “zebras and peacocks” from
the zoo because socialist central planning has not worked very well in all the
countries in which it has been tried, most recently in Venezuela.
I really think the word "capitalism" has, unfairly, acquired a bad reputation. If the question were posed, "Do you favor free enterprise vs socialism?", I think the answers would be more favorable to free enterprise.
ReplyDeleteI agree, John, with your distinction, from the populist view, however, as an economist, I understand that capitalism derived from capital which you do need in order to start a free enterprise, in addition to various permits.
ReplyDeleteHi Ileana. I write on behalf of Jerry Nordskog and Nordskog Publishing. We would like to share this blog with the readers of our public service e-newsletter The Bell Ringer. Col. John knows us, and may vouch for our ministry-business, as we published the second edition of his Theological and Historical Foundations of Law. We are big fans of John. Thanks for the kind consideration. You may just respond here or forward your response, mentioning my name, to staff@nordskogpublishing.com. Thank you! Yours, Ron
ReplyDeletePS I should have added that you can see or work including our other Publisher's Corner offerings at www.nordskogpublishing.com. Blessings, Ron
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