Showing posts with label Communism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Communism. Show all posts

Monday, November 10, 2008

Why I Don't Vote Democrat

Contrary to the assertions of Obamunists, I vote Republican because the GOP best represents my values, NOT because I am a racist. The same goes for all Republicans. The Democrat party goes against everything that I hold dear. I value the sanctity of life and the sanctity of traditional, heterosexual marriage. I believe that life begins at conception and that holding this belief is not above my paygrade. I value honesty and integrity, characteristics that Barack Hussein Obama does not possess. I believe in small government and that the government is of the people, by the people, and for the people. I believe that the Constitution should be upheld by our judges as written, and not interpreted based on feelings. I believe in concrete policies, not just abstract ideas. I believe in necessary regulation, not over regulation. I believe in low taxes and the value of a dollar. I believe that capitalism is what makes our economy great and that the trickle-down theory works both ways. I believe that Socialism is a failed system that is inherently flawed and inherently evil. I believe that "economic equality" is just a euphemism for Socialism. I believe in equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome. Above all, I believe in Dr. Martin Luther King's dream that one should be judged not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character. If that makes me a racist, then I shall wear that label with pride and as a badge of honour.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Hitler vs. Stalin: Same Wolf, Different Sheep

Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin; these names are practically synonymous with evil. Most historians agree that both of these men carried out atrocities at the expense of their own people, but some historians argue that that is where their similarities end. The majority of historians believe that the regimes of Hitler and Stalin were essentially the same; the differences between the two were minor and inconsequential. One historian in particular, Richard Overy, believes that these similarities are superficial and that Hitler and Stalin were more different than alike. I beg to differ. Although Hitler and Stalin were on opposite sides of the political spectrum, no matter how far right or far left one’s ideology may be, it ends up in the same place.
Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin were not simply megalomaniacs. Both of these men thoroughly believed that they had a mandate from history. World War I and the resulting Treaty of Versailles devastated both Germany and Russia. This devastation angered and inspired both men to become leaders. After the war, both the German and Russian economies were in shambles. For the Russians, it was not just due to war, but also due to the Bolshevik Revolution, which forcibly removed Czar Nicholas I and his regime from power. The Bolsheviks had to start from scratch. Hitler, and the majority of Germans, felt that the Treaty of Versailles marginalized and emasculated Germany. Hitler believed that Germany had to rise up and reassert herself on the world stage. All of these events together created a need in the minds of Hitler and Stalin: the need to become the savior of their fallen nations.
Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin both believed that the cause (state) was supreme. For Hitler, the cause was National Socialism and the purification of the German “race.” For Stalin, the cause was the Bolshevik (Communist) Revolution of Vladimir Lenin. Both regimes demanded absolute loyalty to the state. Those who differed were deemed “dangerous” to the state and were either executed or imprisoned. One was either with the state or against the state. There was no middle ground.
For Hitler and Stalin, the ends justified the means. These men felt that because they had a mandate from history, it was their historical duty to fulfill that mandate by any means necessary. Their means included persecution, execution, and imprisonment. Hitler’s persecution was based not just on politics, but also on race and religion. Gypsies, Poles, and Jews were Hitler’s “favorite” scapegoats. Stalin, on the other hand, was more equal opportunity. He persecuted based almost solely on perceived loyalty to the Revolution. All groups were fair game, though some groups, particularly Ukrainians, seemed to be “preferred” targets.
In the end, Hitler and Stalin ended up justifiably vilified by historians. Despite a belief in a mandate by history, neither regime survived the death of its leader. Despite the survival of Bolshevism until the 1990s, Stalinism was officially denounced in 1956, by Stalin’s successor, Nikita Khrushchev. National Socialism, conversely, was pushed to the very fringes of society. These two regimes illustrate that extremism on either the left or the right is essentially the same thing.