A look back at Communism

An examination of our historical "inordinate fear" of communism might shed some light on what some consider our new inordinate fear of terrorism.

....

Let us examine the myths and realities of communism and anti-communism, and see if our fear really was inordinate. Were we fighting a phantom menace? Was the only thing we had to fear our own fear? Let's start at the beginning.

Myth: The Communist ideal is quite innocent, for example, "to each according to his needs, from each according to his abilities."

Myth: The Russian Communists overthrew the czar; they were simply replacing a violent dictator.

Myth: The Russian Communists were no more violent than the czar.

Myth: The Communists were guilty of some violence, but no more so than any other form of government, especially considering the Christian Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, slavery in the U.S. and its treatment of Native Americans.

Myth: Communist movements were subverted by their leaders, who were not practicing true communism.

Myth: Communism offers a more fair distribution of wealth.

Myth: Anti-communism in the U.S. is a Republican product, part of their "politics of fear", from the Red Scare to the House Un-American Activities Committee to the Cold War itself.

Myth. Joe McCarthy ran the HUAC and blacklisted hundreds of innocent Hollywood artists. He ruined the lives of innocent people by irresponsibly accusing them of being communists.

Myth: The anti-communists warned us of a "domino effect" and a "bloodbath" if we left Vietnam. Those warnings turned out to be unfounded.

Myth: Communism was flawed and would have fizzled out on its own. "George Bush taking credit for the Berlin Wall coming down is like the rooster taking credit for the sunrise." Al Gore in the 1992 Vice Presidential debates.

Myth: Communism is so over; didn't you see Rocky IV?