Yesterday’s Communist Is Today’s Progressive
What new wholly created crisis by this administration will emerge today? No one can know for certain except that whatever manufactured crisis the Left creates today will surely be one that pits one group of Americans against each other. Sadly it’s become the status quo for our way of governance in which new morals, values, laws and rights are established at the benefit of a few to the detriment of the majority. All the while this is happening we meaninglessly drift away from the norms established in the past as our own history fades away from popular discourse.
In the blink of an eye, or in a generation, society itself unravels as it seems today to have lost the ability to retain the qualities that once made America exceptional. Liberty, freedom, truth, and the Constitution have given way to ideology, entitlement, and moral relativism. What we are left with is a pervasive atmosphere of decadence and moral bankruptcy that stands no chance in fighting an ideology that is consuming us.
Thanks to a “progressive,” anti-intellectual educational system we have created a generation of students who can’t read or write as they function like zombies attracted to materialistic greed and outraged at the latest perceived instance of “injustice”. As Leonard Peikoff in The Ominous Parallels writes, students today are “brainwashed into feeling that their minds are helpless and they must adapt to ‘society’, that there is no absolute truth and that morality is whatever society says it is.” Writing in the introduction to The Ominous Parallels, Ayn Rand notes, “It is a tragic irony of our time” to forget that the bloodiest tribe of our history, the Communists of Soviet Russia, were “motivated by brute powerlust and a crudely materialistic greed for the unearned.”
Rand goes on to write that the Communists only showed respect “for the power of philosophy (which they called ideology)” as they spent “billions on propaganda and indoctrination, realizing that man’s mind is their most dangerous enemy and it is man’s mind that they have to destroy.” The group-think mentality that dominates society today is an example of this, and to dare question the mob is to be ostracized, marginalized, and politicized as being radical. The ability to think for oneself is a virtue that has been lost on a generation that cannot see past the future of tomorrow, let alone the repercussions of their actions today.
With both political parties devoid of principles or respect to their own constituents let alone country, America’s future looks to be heading at breakneck speed towards Soviet Russia’s past. The underlying principle that serves as the catalyst for this is the prevailing ideology of socialism and communism. It goes by the much friendlier name of progressivism today and all that it asks of you is to abide by its principles without question while it slowly and methodically takes from you your rights until you’re rendered defenseless.
“ Communism “ , wrote Whittaker Chambers, “is what happens when, in the name of mind, men free themselves from god. Man does not, as a rule, become a communist because he is attracted to communism, but because he is driven to despair by the crisis of history through which the world is passing. The communist party has the least to offer a man bent on personal advantage. For the intellectual of any ability, it has nothing whatsoever to offer in the way of gain…it only offers those who joined it the certainty of being poor and pariahs…for the party must always demand more than it gives.”
Communism, like socialism, attacks the principle of private property as it holds in contempt the liberty of each individual. In his Critique of Socialism , Alexis de Tocqueville summarized the ideology of progressives by writing the following:
“They unceasingly attempt to mutilate, to curtail, to obstruct personal freedom in any and all ways. They hold that the State must not only act as the director of society, but must further be master of each man, and not only master, but keeper and trainer. For fear of allowing him to err, the State must place itself forever by his side, above him, around him, better to guide him, to maintain him, in a word, to confine him. They call, in fact, for the forfeiture, to a greater or less degree, of human liberty, to the point where, were I to attempt to sum up what socialism is, I would say that it was simply a new system of serfdom.”
Tocqueville goes on to conclude that “Socialists offer us, a formal, regimented and closed society where the State has charge of all, where the individual counts for nothing, where the community masses to itself all power, all life, where the end assigned to man is solely his material welfare.” This ideology does not value each man at his highest, as it makes of each man an agent, an instrument, and a number for it desires equality in constraint and in servitude. Progressivism is anathema to the principles that founded America and it is destroying this country from within aided by both parties in Washington, compounded by the sheer extent of the public’s willful ignorance.
Fredric Bastiat , the great French classical liberal theorist explained that “the parties need to destroy us” as “they are all against us having the same goal of tyranny .” Bastiat continues, “They differ only on the question of knowing in whose hands the despotism will be placed. This is why the thing they fear most is a spirit of true freedom.” What the establishment class in Washington fears the most is an enlightened citizenry that recognizes this. It is why both parties continue to allow this administration to pit one group of Americans against each other by race, religion, class etc. By constantly ginning up crises where they do not exist by adding solutions to problems that are figments of their imaginations, the establishment in Washington is content with keeping us distracted by hating each other as long as we don’t turn our attention towards them, our “representatives”.
It’s quite interesting to note that as soon as we turn our gaze towards these progressives and charge them for espousing a communist and socialist agenda, they become enraged. This is precisely because they cannot grasp the difference between themselves and those against whom the charge was made. Whittaker Chambers elaborates that “men who sincerely abhorred the word communism, in the pursuit of common ends, found that they were unable to distinguish communists from themselves…For men who could not see that what they firmly believed was liberalism added up to socialism, could scarcely be expected to see what added up to communism.” This is why every attack against communists and socialists is felt by the progressives as an attack against themselves.
While it may seem extreme to call the majority of our politicians in Washington as being socialists or communists, it cannot be refuted that their agenda is leading this country down the very same path. You can act as if Republicans and Democrats are different, but over the course of the Obama administration we have seen that this notion of “difference” between the two parties begets reality. They may use different means to justify the end, but the end is all the same.
The longer we continue to ignore this while we fight among eachother over the latest fabricated issue of audacious act committed by the president with the aide of congressional capitulation, the harder it becomes to counter. If we are unwilling to let go of our personal animosities against eachother in favor of turning our energy against those in power who are destroying us, then we leave for the younger generations a future that will destroy them.
In the blink of an eye, or in a generation, society itself unravels as it seems today to have lost the ability to retain the qualities that once made America exceptional. Liberty, freedom, truth, and the Constitution have given way to ideology, entitlement, and moral relativism. What we are left with is a pervasive atmosphere of decadence and moral bankruptcy that stands no chance in fighting an ideology that is consuming us.
I see you visited Prager U. Some good stuff there.
Yes I did and yes there is. I've been there in the past, but unless you make a point of it you forget some of these common sense sites.
Here's another one that hits the nail right on the head.
Try this one Buzz. Hope it does as well as the other one did for you.
Perfect. As for the messge, obviously "free speech" in the USA is not permitted in many situations - it's a myth, and the controls by those who disagree with a message go way beyond just blocking free speech and freedom of expression, but include shouting down, rioting, boycotting, demonstating in front of businesses, and first prize goes to the threats of beheading.
The American Council of Snowmobile Associations (ACSA) and the Snowmobile Leadership and Education-New York (SLEDNY) are both 501C3's that accept donations through Amazon Smile too, in case you are looking.....
Here is another one "Democratic Socialism is still Socialism" Buzz.
When it looks like a video it will be ready to view. As long as it looks like an audio, it will not play.
Sadly we saw strong support just yesterday for NY's free education which is a prime example of socialism and the entitlement mindset. Families making over one hundred thousand are not eligible but get stuck paying the bill for their neighbors that quit their jobs to get the freebies.
Bernie's popularity should be a wake up call to all of us that believe in individual responsibility and limited government.
Just as I suspected people are already preparing to be less productive to take advantage of the socialist free crap.
Saw this in the comment section on another article about the program.
"As my last kid prepares to enter college, if I refuse ALL OVERTIME next year, and volunteer for a lower paying shift, I’ll squeak in under the income limit."
"Makes me wonder why I bother trying to work hard to get ahead."
A very predictable consequence, if you aren't an idiotic ideologue.
Sadly we saw strong support just yesterday for NY's free education which is a prime example of socialism and the entitlement mindset .
I don't know the details, but if a person lives in NYC and goes to a university, what do you think the yearly cost would be? Do you think this entitlement would include room and board or just the tuition? I assure you once the addiction becomes a part of life the dosage to satisfy the addict will certainly increase to cover things that were never mentioned in the beginning.
I've looked over NYC's income tax rates including the state tax rate, but I'm certainly not a tax accountant, so any figures I come up with are contestable.
It looks like a person making....
For single taxpayers:
will pay these state rates, plus NYC rates...
So let's us think of a young person just getting out of school in NYC and get an idea of what the state will recoup from this opportunity for young people to get a so-called free education.
Now another concern would be do we even use the NYC taxes as part of the recoup. Well, I would assume having to work in the state and pay state taxes, the state and the city of NY would receive money, so I'll use both in my layman's calculations......
Example: Well Joe gets a four year degree in Engineering and goes to work at a company in NYC which starts him out at $40,000. That's probably low in NYC, so we can double this income to make sure we cover it.
$40,000 income the first year:
State taxes will be $2580 and NYC taxes will be $1346 totaling $3926.65.
Now the question is how much is the average cost of a year of college in the state of NY?
Well here is a list of colleges in New York....
New York Colleges, Cost and Affordability for 2016
Folks, there's no way this is going to be cost effective. The cheapest 2 year school is over $4000 and they tell you up front you'll need another $9000 or more for room and board and that's if you don't have to eat all year long. And my example is a 4 year school which the lowest cost 4 year school is at least twice that amount
Wonder if the books and supplies are included in this? You can bet if they aren't in the beginning, they will be in the future. That's the way Socialism is. It's like a cancer and it isn't satisfied until it completely consumes the entire host. The addiction is so strong, the people can only think of more, more more free stuff and don't take a piece of my pie. It becomes their pie just like people on welfare, it doesn't take long before they don't think of it as a helping hand, but a right to receive other people's money and they are not going to give up any of it once they become accustomed to receiving it without a tremendous fight.
The sad thing is those making $100,000 or a little more will have to pay cost like $30000, $50000 or more to provide an education for their children.
Utopia is such a great place to live. Everyone wants to live in Utopia, but most of us have to live in Reality because Utopia is not real and can't become real for very long until Reality sets in and Utopia goes to hell and takes Reality right along with it.
Then a few generations of the Progressives teaching their Utopia ideas, brainwashes a new generation and that generation brainwashes more until we fall and have to start all over, if we're lucky we can skip the Anarchy stage.
Oh they say you are jumping to conclusions, conspiracy and such. We already have Socialism in many ways. Well, you can probably smoke a cigarette once in a blue moon and not get addicted, but if you buy a pack and start smoking every day, you will have to keep buying packs daily before you know it. That's the way it is with Socialism. a lot of good intentions, but no long term thinking about the end result.
Anyway, the cost verses the benefit looks pretty stiff to me and someone will have to pay for those thousands of students free education paid back with state taxes at the rate of around 10% of the cost, leaving 90% to be paid in taxes from other tax payers.
I may have to take some of this back about the schools. I now understand it is only the City Schools and State Schools, which many aren't listed in the link I provided above and are lower cost. Depending what you go to school for will determine what you make. If you go to be a RN with a four year degree, the cost will not be as much on the taxpayer as my example. Figure some on your own. Doesn't matter really, it has already been passed, I guess. I don't know for sure. But no matter what the end product must be worth it to the tax payers and as a representative government, if it proves successful, as I would hope it would then all is well, but if it turns out the other way around or too many people are getting what they don't want, then just remember, you either voted for them or you need to think about relocating to a place more to your interest.
It is CUNY (City) and SUNY (state) schools. I'm involved in organizations that provide scholarships to New York Students. We may have to reconsider our guidelines. Should all students be allowed to compete for money when some students are at a distinct advantage (not paying tuition) over students attending private colleges/universities?
On another note, what of those private schools? Will they be losing potential applicants to schools that give free tuition? What happened to them? The state is now an unfair competitor? Are there avenues within the law to fight this, as taxpayers are being forced to funds one system, but not another?
What of the taxpayers in New York? The poor pay basically no taxes. The system is built to entice the poor to stay poor by providing far more refund dollars than they pay into the system. The rich pay their share of taxes, but how many are there? That leaves the great big middle class to pay for someone else's post secondary education.
One last item, New York States and City schools are run by the Government, through appointed persons in the Office of Higher Education. The Governor is a left wing liberal (planning his run for the presidency), so will our children's education be directed towards seeing all sides of a discussion or will they be taught to be a good liberal?
Brazil graft probe sparks hopes of change, fears of chaos
Yes Petey...... Talk about Riches to Rags.
In some countries the commie threat is very real . You can recognize those nations by their failed economies , most notable : Venezuela .
What about China, their economy isn't failed as far as we know.
If I were Venezuelan maybe I would pay a little attention to you.
If you were Venezuelan, you probably wouldn't have access to a computer, Internet or electricity right now.
Wait, that might not be a bad thing, John.
John, do you deny Obama said in his own words he searched out Marxists Professors? Do you deny he spent years in Reverend Wright's church? Do you deny his associations with radicals such as Bill Ayers, Van Jones and others? What about Frank Marshall, the card carrying Communist? I'll just give you this for the night as I have to hit the sack.
Nothing in life is free. If the Government gives you something, they takeaway something. If they give you one-payer health care like in England and Canada, the government decided what and when you get or don't get care. You and you doctor are to follow the government rules and if you die before you get care, who really cares, not the government. Look at the VA Government Healthcare system. Men and women who served our country (and the reason most of us are here) were promised good care. VA healthcare for the most part of just above third world care.
The more the government does for you and me(that we should be doing for ourselves), the more freedoms we lose.
"If they give you one-payer health care like in England and Canada, the government decided what and when you get or don't get care."
I lived in Canada for my first 69 years, and I always received the medical care I needed, went to whatever doctor I chose, and was admitted into every hospital and clinic I wanted or needed to be. I never had to wait. All I had to pay for was lab tests for blood or urine tests, and it did not exaclty break me. As well, when I became a senior citizen at age 65 prescription medicines only cost me a single annual $100 registration fee at the drug store, and a small dispensing fee. One does not go bankrupt in Canada due to needed medical care, or have to do without. The American pharmaceutical companies and Insurance companies love to tell stories of the very few Canadians who have gone to the USA for health care.
Oh, one caveat: Vanity operations like voluntary nose jobs and other vanity driven plastic surgery is not covered by the Canadian health plan - so what?
"If they give you one-payer health care like in England and Canada, the government decided what and when you get or don't get care."
I lived in Canada for my first 69 years, and I always received the medical care I needed, went to whatever doctor I chose, and was admitted into every hospital and clinic I wanted or needed to be. I never had to wait. All I had to pay for was lab tests for blood or urine tests, and it did not exaclty break me. As well, when I became a senior citizen at age 65 prescription medicines only cost me a single annual $100 registration fee at the drug store, and a small dispensing fee. One does not go bankrupt in Canada due to needed medical care, or have to do without. The American pharmaceutical companies and Insurance companies love to tell stories of the very few Canadians who have gone to the USA for health care.
Oh, one caveat: Vanity operations like voluntary nose jobs and other vanity driven plastic surgery is not covered by the Canadian health plan - so what?
I'll agree with Buzz on the Canadian health care system. I have a number of relatives living in Canada and they are covered by the national system.
Australia, another country with national health care is a excellent example of good care. Having lived there and much of my family still live there and are covered by the national health care system. None has to worry about going bankrupt because of an illness. The child care is excellent, much better than the U.S.
Without having the experience of actually having lived and dealt with it firsthand I can't see how anyone can consider themselves an authority on it.