1. How to understand the Liberal/Progressive/Leftist of our acquaintance? The same way one gets to Carnegie Hall: practice, practice, practice. And toward that end, the large body of autobiographies and memoirs written by former Communists- a group, ultimately, hardly indistinguishable from the group mentioned above.
2. In all of the above, the psychological mechanism of belief is prominent. Communist belief system is a Xerox of the belief system of organized religion. In fact, there is the famous anthology of essays by ex-Communists is called The God That Failed. And ex-Communist Douglas Hyde, who moved from Communism to Roman Catholicism, called his book I Believed.
3. Now, belief is not to be confused with opinion. Two plus two equals four, or on the third day He arose again according to Scriptures are not opinions: they are beliefs. The distinction is important, for it was on the basis of belief that Western communists of an earlier generation acted and wrote. It is a mistake to fail to see that their successors, Liberals/Progressives/Leftists, act and write on the same basis.
(Ideas from "The Anti-Communist Manifestos," by John V. Fleming.)
a. Every Leftist is, essentially, a Marxist even though most eschew the title since the fall of the Soviet Union. Even so, Left-wing ideas are predicated on Marxs materialist view. Philosophically, the term implies that only material things are real. Therefore, emotions, such as love, are no more than chemistry. And it suggests that it is only genes and environment that determine our actions, and free will plays no role. And, of course, God and religious beliefs are nonsense. Dennis Prager, Still The Best Hope.
4. The belief is that capitalism is immoral, indeed criminal, and represents exploitation of ones fellow man. It is, in fact, the cause of such evils as war, slavery, oppression, and every variety of human misery. The remedy? Socialism.
5. Just as we look at Isaac Newton as the interpreter of the physical world, so the first to recognize and explain the laws of the social world was Karl Marx.
a. "Nature, and Nature's Laws lay hid in Night, God said, Let Newton be ! and All was Light." Alexander Pope.
b. Marxists thoroughly disbelieve in God, but they invested in Karl Marx a variant of divine omniscience.
6. Along with that belief was that of the French post-war Communists that the Red Army defeated Hitler, and the United States and Britain was simply braggarts who behaved moderately, but rushed into Germany to claim far more than a modest share of the spoils.
a. They believed that the Sovietization of Eastern Europe was the equivalent of the proletarian revolution, bringing the blessings of socialism to millions!
b. Imperialist forces, headed by the United States, were preparing to initiate a war against the Soviet Union.
c. Thus was provided a firm grounding for actions and attitudes of the Communists- and for the modern Democrat Party.
7. Concomitant in both the Communists and the Democrats, a feature of exclusive belief, is the criminalization of non-belief, or wrong belief. The penalties for such, death in the Moscow Show Trials, or various forms of vituperation for infractions of political correctness in our society.
a. One can hear the echoes of the sixth century Athanasian Creed of the Christian Church : Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled; without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. This creed is named after Athanasius (A.D. 293-373), the champion of orthodoxy. Athanasian Creed - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
8. The French Communists of the mid 20th century, and our Liberals/Progressives/Leftists, the phrase remise de soi carries with it the essence of belief. It translates to surrender oneself, a kind of voluntary ignorance. It implies the opposite of careful consideration, of informed decision-making. It is the submission of individual judgment to the authority of the collective, the Communist Party, the NYTimes. The parallel with the demands of religious orthodoxy is nearly exact.
a. A corollary of remise de soi is the refusal to consider, contemplate, or even read a book of opposing ideas. Whittaker Chambers wrote that he was actually afraid to read an anti-Soviet book.
b. 'Remise de soi' could be translated as equivalent to the meaning of Islam," submission. [Whitaker] Chamberss review of The Meaning of Treason also compared the violent fanaticism of the 20th centurys secular totalitarian systems adherents to the votaries of Islam. Whittaker Chambers and Totalitarian Islam - Andrew G. Bostom - National Review Online
9. One can imagine that the European Communists of a half century ago maintained their "beliefs,' but possibly moderated with the passage of time.
Our Liberals/Progressives/Leftists, are also impervious to reason, debate...and even experience.
Instruction is via the ballot box.
We should keep that in mind.
2. In all of the above, the psychological mechanism of belief is prominent. Communist belief system is a Xerox of the belief system of organized religion. In fact, there is the famous anthology of essays by ex-Communists is called The God That Failed. And ex-Communist Douglas Hyde, who moved from Communism to Roman Catholicism, called his book I Believed.
3. Now, belief is not to be confused with opinion. Two plus two equals four, or on the third day He arose again according to Scriptures are not opinions: they are beliefs. The distinction is important, for it was on the basis of belief that Western communists of an earlier generation acted and wrote. It is a mistake to fail to see that their successors, Liberals/Progressives/Leftists, act and write on the same basis.
(Ideas from "The Anti-Communist Manifestos," by John V. Fleming.)
a. Every Leftist is, essentially, a Marxist even though most eschew the title since the fall of the Soviet Union. Even so, Left-wing ideas are predicated on Marxs materialist view. Philosophically, the term implies that only material things are real. Therefore, emotions, such as love, are no more than chemistry. And it suggests that it is only genes and environment that determine our actions, and free will plays no role. And, of course, God and religious beliefs are nonsense. Dennis Prager, Still The Best Hope.
4. The belief is that capitalism is immoral, indeed criminal, and represents exploitation of ones fellow man. It is, in fact, the cause of such evils as war, slavery, oppression, and every variety of human misery. The remedy? Socialism.
5. Just as we look at Isaac Newton as the interpreter of the physical world, so the first to recognize and explain the laws of the social world was Karl Marx.
a. "Nature, and Nature's Laws lay hid in Night, God said, Let Newton be ! and All was Light." Alexander Pope.
b. Marxists thoroughly disbelieve in God, but they invested in Karl Marx a variant of divine omniscience.
6. Along with that belief was that of the French post-war Communists that the Red Army defeated Hitler, and the United States and Britain was simply braggarts who behaved moderately, but rushed into Germany to claim far more than a modest share of the spoils.
a. They believed that the Sovietization of Eastern Europe was the equivalent of the proletarian revolution, bringing the blessings of socialism to millions!
b. Imperialist forces, headed by the United States, were preparing to initiate a war against the Soviet Union.
c. Thus was provided a firm grounding for actions and attitudes of the Communists- and for the modern Democrat Party.
7. Concomitant in both the Communists and the Democrats, a feature of exclusive belief, is the criminalization of non-belief, or wrong belief. The penalties for such, death in the Moscow Show Trials, or various forms of vituperation for infractions of political correctness in our society.
a. One can hear the echoes of the sixth century Athanasian Creed of the Christian Church : Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled; without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. This creed is named after Athanasius (A.D. 293-373), the champion of orthodoxy. Athanasian Creed - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
8. The French Communists of the mid 20th century, and our Liberals/Progressives/Leftists, the phrase remise de soi carries with it the essence of belief. It translates to surrender oneself, a kind of voluntary ignorance. It implies the opposite of careful consideration, of informed decision-making. It is the submission of individual judgment to the authority of the collective, the Communist Party, the NYTimes. The parallel with the demands of religious orthodoxy is nearly exact.
a. A corollary of remise de soi is the refusal to consider, contemplate, or even read a book of opposing ideas. Whittaker Chambers wrote that he was actually afraid to read an anti-Soviet book.
b. 'Remise de soi' could be translated as equivalent to the meaning of Islam," submission. [Whitaker] Chamberss review of The Meaning of Treason also compared the violent fanaticism of the 20th centurys secular totalitarian systems adherents to the votaries of Islam. Whittaker Chambers and Totalitarian Islam - Andrew G. Bostom - National Review Online
9. One can imagine that the European Communists of a half century ago maintained their "beliefs,' but possibly moderated with the passage of time.
Our Liberals/Progressives/Leftists, are also impervious to reason, debate...and even experience.
Instruction is via the ballot box.
We should keep that in mind.
