Walk the Line (Part 2)

A “struggle session” taken during the Chinese Communist Cultural Revolution

I invite you all to take a glimpse back in time, when Mao Zedong enforced his socialistic Marxist ideals in China…the people had utopian dreams and assurances just as many Americans do today: no more poverty! No unequal distribution of wealth and resources! No starvation or lack of the basic necessities of life!

Mao quickly crushed any opposing capitalistic views and the whole country began its trek into the “utopian dream.”

The novel: Operation Ordinary: Live the Truth, Resist Democratic Socialism by Leah Pritchard, explains in depth the atrocities of the communist movement in China. Leah was given a unique inside perspective as a teacher, which she carried back to the United States in 2016. Appalled to discover that America was beginning to take that same trek…mirroring Mao’s step-by-step transformation in every detail.

What was his plan? Leah lists it clearly below (page 283) from the source: China: A Century of Revolution (3 part documentary):

1. Raise class consciousness (awareness)

2. Cast a vision for a new and better society

3. Silence dissenters through accusation and shame

4. Demand confessions (and apologies)

5. Implement socialist policies

6. Respond with damage control all along the way (concealing the harsh truth)

7. Mobilize student warriors

8. Re-educate the masses

9. Obliterate traditional culture

Reading through this list I’m sure there were some familiarities that came to mind. Especially if you fall under the white, conservative Christian label. How many times has the media targeted us? Told us that we are wrong, privileged, need to apologize for being born a certain race, or having certain beliefs that our country once held unanimously?

We are quite aware of our class differences more than ever. There is a great divide between Republicans and Democrats, the working class and the wealthy, race, gender, religion…you name it. Suddenly our differences and uniqueness is being erased and labeled as bad. To the extent that to be white =racist, to be a Christian=LGBT hater, to be a Republican=every foul name in the book.

A vision for a brighter future has been cast, strangely, by the same people who stirred up the masses to hatred and division in the first place. Socialistic policies have already slowly leaked into our society, and our colleges and schools have become training grounds or “brainwashing” faculties for the youth of tomorrow.

There is already talk of re-educating those who oppose, and we see this in a broader scale by the erasing of history, misleading propaganda, and misinterpretation of news. The controlling and censoring of what can be seen, heard, and read online. America once had the freedom to know and determine truth for oneself. Now that right is disintegrating as all our sources for truth are given over to those who have a plan.

Traditional culture is an even more blatant issue that’s under attack. Traditional family unit, religious beliefs, American ideals…all changing and warping: disappearing entirely.

The Chinese people were ready to go all in once Mao’s purging plan came to an end and everyone was united (having forced the capitalists to bend/flee).

“The centralized government gradually took full control of the land and the output of farms and factories. National healthcare was established. (And) Private property was abolished.” (Page 331)

Everyone in the labor groups transitioned to communal living. Working side-by-side in the fields/factories for their vision while their children were raised by the school/ daycare systems.

All that was earned/produced was distributed to large cities leading to an unprecedented death toll as starvation hit an all time high—within 3 years!

“30 to 45 million peasants died…as they watched truckload after truckload of grains and crops they had planted and harvested with their own bare hands being hauled away to fund Mao’s socialist initiatives and to feed people living in the cities.” (Page 337)

Of course the general public knew nothing of this (damage control at its finest). The media is just as clever today at hiding the truth. Look how they glorify Islamists, Palestinian terror, Biden and his sketchy officials, and of course socialist countries…

Technological advancement and innovation in China was also stunted, making the farmers/factories inefficient to produce the needed resources to fuel their socialist cause. They didn’t take into account that the innovators, scientists, engineers, and intellectuals made up much of their wealthy neighbors. In silencing them and taking over their businesses they silenced their own countries potential for growth and development.

Mao’s failed plan led to new rises in capitalistic voices, and that is when he turned to the youth for his salvation. Brainwashing and re-educating them, turning them into communistic activists with the goal of destroying capitalism—by any means necessary.

I think you can imagine what transpired after that. And you can still see today the continued ramifications of the socialist movement in China and other countries as well. And so that brings me to the point of discussion today—socialism in America (more specifically, democratic socialism).

Do you remember my questions from part 1?

Can we collectively cure the human condition? And what assurances could we have, what freedoms or (fail safes) could we enact should our socialist dream backfire—like it did in China?

Those are the questions one should consider before deciding on socialism as a cure-all to our country’s social/economic woes. Because in order for socialism to work, even remotely, it would require that every man, woman, and child gladly give up their freedoms for the sake of the whole. It requires that everyone live a selfless, sacrificial, giving life.

Greed, therefore, cannot exist.

The lusting for power must be purged from the hearts of man…something that has never been done before. And so, already this utopian dream is flawed. In the name of being treated equally and justly, socialists would gladly give up their individual rights to those who would treat them unequally and unjustly.

The human condition remains unchanged: people are greedy, lazy, ungrateful, selfish, and require incentive to do whatever it is they do. Or do you know many people who love their jobs enough to work for free? Many of the jobs that we need are not easy jobs. Profit and earnings are therefore essential.

And so, like China, there will be opposition to socialistic ideals and that opposition will make it obsolete. Capitalists will not be silenced and so violence will ensue. They will dehumanize us (something already occurring), and when silencing (threatening/punishing/re-educating) fails—murder or exile will be the only option left. And those who will carry out this final phase are the very ones who carried out the final phase in China—our youth and governmental authorities.

Power given away is not power easily taken back…

I could go on and on about this, stressing the importance of history and the importance of our freedom (paid and bought by blood). When other countries riot against their dictatorships, they oftentimes wave the American flag. We are the land of the free! Everyone who is oppressed dreams of America!

I’m not pretending that our country is perfect—it isn’t. But if you would really look back and study our history, the decisions and policies that have been enacted over the span of a 100 years. You’ll start to find some correlations; socialism has been trying to take hold on this country for awhile. And it’s the Democratic Party that is taking the reigns of this movement and pushing for it.

“The poor will always be among you…” (Matthew 26:11)

Is that an excuse to not fight against it? No, not at all! But it is a promise that this temporary world can’t be fixed. The devil is its ruler and it is only through the love of Christ that we take back territory and bring Heaven here!

You see money, drugs, weapons, you name it…they are merely tools. Not necessarily evil not necessarily bad. It is us “the people” who use them in ways that harm ourselves and others.

God’s original design was for the government to protect and the church to heal.

In a capitalistic society we have a choice, one that in a socialistic one we are denied.

That choice…is to rise. To win! To chase dreams, work hard for them, provide for our own families. Work where we want to, live where we want to, start businesses, let our creativity flow! We can say what we want and live however we want to, be it selfishly or sacrificially. We have our own wills and desires, our own minds, able to think and decide for ourselves. We can use our unique talents and know how’s to store up wealth or we can give it away. That is the American dream, the heart of what it means to be free.

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”— Margaret Thatcher

“The democracy would cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.” —Thomas Jefferson

“Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.” —Alexis de Tocqueville

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Walk the Line (Part 1)

Nazi marching in Germany (US Holocaust Memorial Museum)

The world was not prepared for the evil that Hitler wrought upon the Jews. We couldn’t comprehend the vast number of followers his maniacal hatred bred—a flame that fanned into an all-consuming inferno. Costing the lives of over 6 million innocent Jews, 40 million civilians, and roughly 20 million military troops…of course those numbers are purely based on recorded deaths…many more were never found. (Lumenlearning.com)

In our history books we can look back into the very eyes of these men and women; the victims and the oppressors. Sometimes I wonder, if it wasn’t for the uniforms, could we even tell the Nazi’s apart from anyone else—just by their faces alone.

In school, we learned about the wars, the losses, and the names of those heroine and foe who did either great or terrible things. But never once did the history books try to explain “how.” How could 13.6 million people turn their backs on their fellow citizens and embrace an ideology of antisemitism? Willing to torture and kill people that once lived side-by-side with them? And how could one man accomplish this?

This widespread brainwashing was something that the rest of the world wanted to sweep under the rug, believing that it couldn’t possibly happen to their own citizens and leaders. This failure to face the deep evil that mankind is capable of would only allow for more to follow.

Our world is always at war. You may not hear about them all, but they are happening. Wars in Africa just this past year, have led to the deaths of 1,000-9,999 people (Wikipedia.org). That’s the result of 25 active conflicts currently happening—and we know nothing of this (seeker.com).

The cumulative list of current wars can be found on worldpopulationreview.com. Give it a glance and I’m sure you’ll be just as appalled as I am by the conflicts, deaths, and seemingly disinterest of the media concerning them. This is the world we live in.

Again—we can look at the data, read up on why the conflicts are happening—but what about the how?

This same website sums up “why” into several answers:

“…economic gain, territorial gain, religion, nationalism, civil war, and revolution.”

They go on to say:

“Often, countries’ leaders are the primary motivator of conflict between and within nations when they test their limits, such as instigating a territorial dispute, trying to control another country’s natural resources, or exercising authoritarian power over the people.”

In each case (excluding those who are merely trying to overcome crime/terrorists) there is a governing power and with that power is a voice that sways the masses into violence. These “wars” erupt from within rather than without.

Very few set out to do evil. Many start off well-intentioned and believing that what they are fighting for is right. The authorities in place offer us many things; protection and order among them. However, just as we fail individually—collectively we can fail all the more devastatingly.

I believe the only way we can answer the “how?” Is by understanding our human failings, particularly from a Biblical perspective. We were created to rule, conquer, and to worship Him.

After the fall of mankind; we still desired such things, but our flesh added to those desires, twisting and warping them throughout the ages. We wanted peace—yet we killed to acquire it, we wanted to rule—yet we gave our authorities over to those unworthy of it, and we wanted God—yet we killed His only Son.

I think Spock (Star Trek) said it best when he considered the human condition: “Curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want.” That we do, Mr. Spock…

A wholly surrendered life to God is the only way we can obtain anything purely good. Every “good well-intentioned thought/plan/idea” a part from Him will be thwarted by the devil and quite honestly—ourselves.

And so how these things occur is no mystery to those who recognize our failings and great need for salvation. Only through Christ can we maintain our righteousness (albeit imperfectly), and achieve lasting and desirable outcomes in our world today. That is how Heaven’s reality invades Earth.

All this talk of how and why; emphasizing on universal human failings collectively and individually is leading to my main topic or reason for writing this particular 2 part blog: And that topic is —socialism (in America).

“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, it’s inherent virtue is the sharing of misery.” —Winston Churchill

“…Socialism could never have worked because it is based on false premises about human psychology and society, and gross ignorance of human economy.” —David Horowitz

Why Socialism? It is a relevant issue today in our capitalist America, as over time—socialist ideas/policies have integrated themselves into our society. Meanwhile, in China and Korea, communism is continuing to tighten its hold on its people.

What is socialism? As a conservative Christian my definition is highly resented. However, all beliefs aside—socialism has proven itself closely tied to communistic ideals. In many ways socialism is the first phase of the resulting communism (in my opinion). Even a google search will tell you that China (for example) is a socialist country.

The Merriam-Webster definition is as follows:

-Various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods. (There are no private properties)

-A stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done.

They go on to explain that throughout history the terms socialism and communism have been interchangeable and hard to truly define since the Marxist ideals have been either loosely or rigidly followed resulting in different forms/levels of socialism.

In essence, it stems from the belief that individual wealth/private properties/income/etc. creates a societal imbalance of power/wealth/resources to the masses. Socialists believe that time+resources=value. That we should all share and collectively own wealth/resources.

And this is typically when they paint the great utopian future should socialism be implemented in our country: “No more poverty! No more rich people hogging all the wealth! Everyone will pitch in and work together to create and build! Everyone will share everything willingly! No one will starve! No children will be uncared for! Greed and [insert your own sin] will virtually disappear!”

All great things right? Who wouldn’t want that? It sounds like a dream…a perfect world…a lie.

You may think my claim is baseless and biased, but I have ample truths to back up my reasoning…but for now, I want you to ask yourself these questions which will transition to part 2 of this blog:

“Can we collectively erase evil (curing the human condition on our own?). And what assurances can we have in a socialistic society should our government fall prey to corruption?

In the next part we will dissect the pros and cons of socialism and why no matter how many times or ways it is implemented—it always fails to do as intended.