1.) Your assertion regarding the '50's is that Communism is now somehow irrelevant because of the fall of the Soviet Union.
Marxism, Leninism, Communism, Socialism, Fascism are different flavors
of the same broth, based upon the Industrial Revolution era social
observations of an academic (Marx) supported by a member of the elite
(Engels. The published the "Communist Manifesto in 1848. The
implementation of this ideology resulted in the murder of over a hundred
million people, largely by their own governments, during the 20th
century. Do you actually believe that the murderers of these millions
simply put away their ideology and disappeared when the Berlin Wall
fell? No. They were assimilated, ideology intact, into surviving
societies. An obvious example of this is Russia, now run by the KGB
remnants and actively undermining US positions worldwide, notably with
China, Iran and Syria where they are suspected to have troops on the
ground.
A key feature of Communism is that it assumes a ruling
class drawn from the worker class, the "vanguard" that will rule until
the worker's paradise is achieved, then voluntarily abdicate their
authority. Private property, the basis of capitalism, is abolished and
the State owns all. Individuals may use property and acquire goods only
at the pleasure of the State. "You didn't build that" "There are
plenty of smart people", "There are lots of hard working people" are
reminders of the power of the State and its elite who administer it.
Since Marxism is class based, it is hostile to individualism. Hmm?
Once the individual is accepted as unimportant in the grand scheme of
society bad things become permissible. Self described communist
(Discover the Networks) Bill Ayers embodies the attitude permissible
once the individual is irrelevant.
Here is testimony about Obama's friend and mentor Bill Ayers from an FBI informant quoted in Wikipedia:
"Larry Grathwohl, an FBI informant who infiltrated The Weather
Underground, testified before Congress that Ayers wanted to overthrow
the United States government. In an interview in January 2009, Grathwohl
stated that:
"The thing the most bone chilling
thing Bill Ayers said to me was that after the revolution succeeded and
the government was overthrown, they believed they would have to
eliminate 25 million Americans who would not conform to the new
order."[60]" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWMIwziGrAQ&feature=player_embedded
While the testimony is horrific it is contested by Ayers. Here is Ayers' own statement about himself:
"Also in 2001, Ayers expressed his enduring hatred for the United States: “What a country. It makes me want to puke.”
At a 2007 reunion of former members of the Weather Underground and
Students for a Democratic Society, Ayers reemphasized his contempt for
the U.S., asserting that the nation's chief hallmarks included
"oppression," "authoritarianism," and "a kind of rising incipient
American form of fascism." "
and some interesting information regarding Barack Obama and Ayers from Discover the Networks.
"In 1994 Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, and Michael Klonsky were among those
listed on a "Membership, Subscription and Mailing List" for the Chicago
Committees of Correspondence, an offshoot of the Communist Party USA.
In 1995, Ayers and Dohrn hosted meetings at their Chicago home to
introduce Barack Obama to their neighbors and political allies, as Obama
prepared to make his first run for the Illinois state senate."
"In March 2011, Ayers addressed an Occupy Wall Street contingent in New
York City and told them: "I get up every morning and think, today I’m
going to make a difference. Today I’m going to end capitalism. Today I’m
going to make a revolution. I go to bed every night disappointed but
I’m back to work tomorrow, and that’s the only way you can do it.""
During the first 30 - 50 years of the 20th century Marxist ideology
was seen by many, notably leftist scholars and literary types in
America, as the next evolution of governance destined to replace
capitalism. Despite its track record it is still seen as such by many today.
I mention all of the above to make certain that you know that
political ideologies like religions (indeed, AS religion) are very
powerful forces capable of ignoring plain evidence of success or
failure. Bill Ayers is an example of a communist who went mainstream
through academia to pursue his revolutionary ends.
Marxism is
not dead and is still taught in American Universities as it should be.
It should not be taught as a Utopian solution to the ills of Capitalism.
It should be taught in the light of Hayek's work as the viral
destructive ideology reflected in the "Black Book of Communism"
responsible for death, destruction, dictatorship, and economic failure
virtually everywhere it has been implemented.
While
Marxism/Socialism inevitably leads to totalitarian government, economic
failure (Soviet Union), it is always sold as the answer to the
afflicted masses' frustration at their situation in life via claims of
class discrimination by the Middle and Upper classes. If this sounds
familiar it should. Just listen to Obama's campaign rhetoric.
Read Hayek, "The Road to Serfdom", "The Fatal Conceit", "The
Constitution of Liberty" to gain insight into this mechanism or bury
your head in the sand and suffer the consequences if the President gains
another term.
IS GUN CONTROL A SOLUTION TO GUN CRIME? ANSWER: NO! (THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE) 2.) Your expressed sympathy for the victims of
the shooting in Aurora is admirable. Your desire to ban the tools used
by the madman is not. As many leftists are wont to do you embrace a
feel good solution that is proven to be ineffective and actually
encourages the behavior it purports to inhibit. Why would anyone think
that it would reduce gun crime to deny honest citizens the right to bear
arms for self defense?
Chicago, President Obama's hometown,
has some of the most stringent gun laws anywhere. It is also one of the
most dangerous cities in the world and currently more dangerous than
Afghanistan.
http://rt.com/usa/news/chicago-afghanistan-city-us-108/
Gun crime rates in Great Britain and Australia have soared since the
banning of virtually all firearms and the use of the law to prosecute
citizens who protect themselves from crime with force. All the laws
have done is create a nation of sheep waiting for slaughter.
Mexico has a right to bear arms in its constitution that has been gutted
by regulations over the past 100 years. How is that working out? Only
the criminals and the notoriously corrupt military have guns and the
citizens are at their mercy.
John Lott in "More Guns Less Crime" details the actual facts about this phenomenon.
