Russia Renounces Socialism; America Embraces It

March 24, 2001

by Tom Barrett, Editor@ConservativeTruth.org

RUSSIA RENOUNCES SOCIALISM; AMERICA EMBRACES IT. It’s not exactly "breaking news" when I tell you that Russia and the other "Republics" of the former Soviet Union have renounced Socialism and its kissing cousin, Communism. These political, social, and economic systems have proved to be dismal failures wherever they have been tried. Sure, there are some hard-line Communists and Socialists still making noises in that part of the world, but for the most part these are former Party officials and KGB types who yearn for the good old days when they could take whatever they wished and kill whomever they wished. The average Yuri or Sasha on the streets knows full well the devastation these two "isms" have wrought.

The vast majority of the people in the former Soviet Republics have seen the light. They realize that when the government controls everything, nothing gets done. The have experienced first hand the misery that results when government is the master, rather than the servant of the people. They are working night and day to establish a capitalist economy, because they have discovered the hard way that without a profit motive, economies languish. They have a fledgling stock market that is helping new businesses raise capital.

They have also realized the moral wasteland that Communism and Socialism have bequeathed them. I was shocked when my friend, Faith Deward told me of her experience in Latvia, one of the former Soviet Republics. Faith, a former English teacher in Florida, has spent the last three years as a missionary in Latvia, working with the Morning Star Church in Jurmala. She told me that the principals of the local schools begged the missionaries to come into the schools and teach the Bible, because the children have absolutely no moral foundation. And this is happening all over the former Soviet Union! Contrast that with the ten-year-old girl recently expelled from her school for giving valentines to other children that mentioned the terrible word "God."

In fact, let’s contrast the whole crazy dichotomy that exists today between Russia and the United States. President Reagan and other great statesmen before him worked diligently to bring about the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. Radio Free Europe broadcast the truth 24 hours a day as the Communists tried desperately to jam the signals. The Party bosses were terrified that if their people knew the truth, they would rebel. They controlled their own media, which told the people that their way was the best, and that the West was a terrible place. But as radio Free Europe and others got through, people fled the Soviet Union, and risked (and often lost) their lives climbing the Berlin Wall. Interestingly, not one person was ever shot trying to get INTO East Berlin.

All of which makes a reasonable person wonder why, when people who have experienced all that Socialism and Communism have to offer, and have suffered so much to break the shackles of that tyranny, are so many people in our country dedicating their lives to bring us UNDER that tyranny? Of course, very few, especially elected officials, openly embrace Communism. But many (including the 55 Members of Congress I mentioned last week) are openly Socialists. And any student of history will tell you that almost every Communist country started with Socialism.

There are also many that won’t admit they are Socialists, who are nonetheless working to make the U.S. a Socialist state. Hillary, with her plan for socialized medicine. The NEA (National Education Association), the teacher’s union that is dedicated to practically every anti-family, pro-one-world-government position you can name, and is in charge of deciding what our children learn. The liberals who imagine themselves to be heroic Robin Hoods, taking from the rich to give to the poor, too ignorant of history to realize that that policy brought the Soviets to economic devastation. And, of course, we can’t forget the Jesse Jacksons and Tom Daschles who promote class hatred. Marx taught that class warfare was essential to produce the Socialist revolution.

Are we as a nation so ignorant of history that we can’t look back a few decades to see what Socialism will do to us? Are we so anxious to be politically correct, to be thought of as "progressive", that we are willing to stand by as our nation becomes what Russia is trying to recover from? Is it possible that as a people we are that stupid? History will have to answer that. Remember that less than 10% of Russians were members of the Communist Party when the Party took over the country.

FEEDBACK ON LAST WEEK’S ARTICLE ON FATHERHOOD. "Thank you for this article on the absence of fathers in relationships with their children. It was very enlightening. Leaders are not confronting this issue, the gambling issue, or divorce. The word of God says, "My people perish for lack of knowledge." I am concerned for churches across America and the lack of solid leadership and guidance on these issues. The main agenda of most churches centers on building programs and getting bigger, not better and more effective. I fear that we have lost our focus. With a 78% church attendance rate here in Louisiana, how is it that we just gave license to the gambling industry to expand its control over our state? Thank you for your input and concern in these issues." Rev. Leland Hodges

NOT ALL OF OUR READERS ARE CONSERVATIVES. This short email was in response to my article about who might be appointed to replace Dick Cheney in the unlikely event that he resigned for health reasons. "Maybe they will appoint David Duke. He is rather conservative, would your organization support him? Jackie."  

This was my response: "Dear Jackie- First, I don’t have an ’organization.’ I am just a preacher who comments on our deteriorating society in the way that I believe the Bible teaches me to do. I speak out against abortion because it is murder. I speak out against homosexuality because God condemns it (according to the Bible, God hates the act, He does NOT hate the homosexual). I speak out against gross immorality such as our recently (thankfully) departed ex-president committed regularly, because it lowers the morals of the entire nation. We’ve heard, "If it’s OK for the President to lie to grand jury, why is it bad for me to commit perjury?" too many times. As to David Duke, I don’t consider him a conservative. He’s a hate monger.

"In my mind, there are four major political classifications in this country. There are the out-and-out Socialists I wrote about in the issue you received. They knowingly promote class warfare, a one-world government, and lobby for re-distribution of wealth. They are disciples of Marx, Stalin, and Lenin, and if they have their way our country will adopt what the Russians finally repudiated- overt Communism. I will do everything in my power to oppose this.

"Second, we have the liberals. Liberals as a group have been duped by the Socialists. Most of them honestly think that they are doing the right thing when they elect liberals to Congress. But there are 55 Democrats in the House of Representatives that are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a division of The Democratic Socialists of America. This organization admits to being "the principal U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International", a Communist organization. The Americans who voted for these people (over 10% of the 535 Members of the House of Representatives) would be stunned if they knew they had elected Representatives who actively promote Socialism. Remember that Marx taught that Socialism is a necessary step to Communism.

"Third, we have the conservatives, who represent what people normally call the "traditional values" of this great nation. We believe that Legislators should pass laws in strict accordance with the Constitution, and that the Courts should stick to their Constitutional role of INTERPRETING laws rather than CREATING them. Most of all, we believe in FREEDOM, something the liberals are unwittingly giving away with every step they take toward Socialism.

"Fourth, there are the right-wing wackos. David Duke is a good example. He gives conservatives a bad name in the same way that Jesse Jackson gives liberals a bad name. Following Election 2000 I went to my first-ever political rally here in West Palm Beach. The rally was in support of Katherine Harris, who was being savaged by the liberals for doing her job. There was a small group of white separatists (a nice word for Klan types) there. I was particularly upset by their cowardice in having a ten-year-old girl holding their Aryan Nation flag. Although I was not an organizer of the event, I took it upon myself to ask them to leave. They said, "We’re here supporting you guys." I told them we didn’t want or need their support. When they refused to leave, I started shouting, ’Racists go home!’ The crowd of about 500 picked up the chant, and the racists got the message and moved across the street. When a reporter from the Los Angeles Times asked me why I had chased them away, I told him, ’Regardless of how the liberals try to characterize us, Republicans are not racists. We don’t want people like that here.’ I hope this story clarifies how I feel about David Duke and his ilk.    

"Jackie, I assume from your comment that you are a liberal. I hope that won’t stop you from opening your mind and reading Conservative Truth. If you get all your information from one side of the political spectrum, you will never get the full picture. That’s why I regularly read liberal publications. Sometimes we conservatives can get so focused on our agenda that we believe nothing the liberals say can be true. And that’s just not how life works. God bless you- Tom."

BUSH ENDS BAR ASSOCIATION’S ROLE IN SELECTING JUDGES. For the last 50 years the American Bar Association’s (ABA) 15-member committee on the federal judiciary has evaluated prospective nominees for the White House or the attorney general. It interviews candidates, reviews their records and makes recommendations before a formal nomination. In 1952 President Dwight Eisenhower asked the committee to also review nominees for the Supreme Court. The committee can rate a candidate well qualified, qualified and not qualified, based on "integrity, professional competence, and judicial temperament." In 1987 four members of this "fair and impartial" panel rated Robert Bork, a federal judge nominated for the Supreme Court by former President Ronald Reagan, as "not qualified."

Judge Bork was probably one of the most qualified men ever to be nominated to the high Court. He had a distinguished career as Yale Law professor and a federal judge, and was described by critics and supporters alike as "brilliant" and "a recognized expert on Constitutional law." But the ABA has for many years been a subsidiary of the liberal Democratic Party, and Judge Bork did not fit their profile. The ABA prefers judges who legislate from the bench, usurping the role of the Congress. Bork believes, along with the vast majority of Americans, that the Constitution is paramount, and that the Supreme Court’s role is restricted to interpreting case law, common law, and the Constitution.

President Bush took a courageous step March 22 when he announced that the ABA’s preferential role in the selection of federal judges would be abolished. "It’s about 20 years overdue," said former Justice Department lawyer Todd Gaziano. "The ABA used to be a non-ideological, nonpartisan professional organization but over the past 30 or so years they’ve grown increasingly ideologically left-leaning and in certain cases outwardly partisan," he said.

IT’S OFFICIAL. Hillary Clinton, one of the most junior of U.S. Senators has the most expensive office of any member of the Senate. More expensive than the Majority or Minority Leader’s offices. More expensive than that of Senator Byrd, who has served in the Senate for decades. What is it about the Clintons and their real estate? Her suite of offices is costing the taxpayers of this country more than her husband’s office. Her personal suite within the larger suite includes a 75-seat auditorium for press conferences. So much for this freshman junior Senator "keeping a low profile and learning how I can help the country." She also told the nation in her first press conference that she didn’t want any special privileges. Hmm...

PLEASE HELP ME WRITE AN ARTICLE. I received this provocative email recently. I have started working on an article in response to it, but today I had a great idea. I’d like to get you, the readers of Conservative Truth involved in answering this man’s question. "Tom, I am becoming a U.S citizen soon. I would like to register with the Republican Party. Would you write a parallel in general between both parties Democratic and Republican? I would appreciate it very much. Ike Sainta."

Here is your opportunity to help a new citizen of our great nation understand the differences between the two parties that dominate our political life. I would like as many people as possible to email responses to this question. You may want to comment on only one point of difference, or you may have a whole list. I’ll do my best to distill all the responses into an article that will help Mr. Sainta and all of us understand our two party system better. The person who sends the best response will win a FREE subscription to Conservative Truth.