Now...well I do not even have to tell you...everyone knows...at least half the country wants free stuff ....thus the infatuation with socialism. Look at how gambling has spread across the country...because folks want free money...they think they can get it at the casino.hehheh
Wow... just wow. Taking an example of greed and trying to compare it to socialism...
You guys never cease to amaze.
The problem with Russia is that it was ALWAYS behind the west for all of it's history. True, they've had a few guys like Peter the Great or Stalin who tried to push it forward brutally, but at it's heart, it really doesn't want to move forward.
To say Socialism is why the USSR failed is as shallow as saying that Capitalism is why the British Empire failed.
Um. No. They failed because of imperialism.
The Anti-Colonialists
In the former British era "colonialism" was being reviled in the native lands and also by concerned Europeans back in the West.
Anti-colonialism typically rose up among the native people groups being colonized.
Yes, they were angry anti-colonialists, - for a time. In the case of the exploited nationals they fought against the European powers. They had some hard feelings against the white race occupying their land. These Western ex-pats had developed their country, and yes, in many cases they had exploited their people. Then the wars of independence came. And when those wars ended peace came. Many of these the people who had been angry anti-colonialists changed with the times. As the wars of independence ended and as they saw their own native leaders corrupted they remembered the good things about their former European expat colonial rulers. And in most cases their wrath slowly abated. They "got over it!" This was the case for many, - but not all.
It seems that there are some political radicals, (and these can be people of any race, color, or nationality), who go "over the top" with this malice. And they never let it go. These unhappy people never change. Their angry disposition tears at them throughout their lifetime. They are forever raging against the evils of "colonialism" or "imperialism". For them the West is where they place all the blame for economic and political shortcomings , and the place where they vent all their anger. We might call this sad condition of the heart "malignant anti-colonialism".
These are native people who have been affected by something in the West that these angry anti-colonialists do not like. Much anger was directed against the tribal people of Northern India who as the result of one Welsh missionary in 1904 turned to Christianity en-mass and became evangelical in their Christian faith. They were hated by many in India for this. Of course this persecution of Christians is an old story going back to the first Century and the Roman era. And it shows very clearly that this raging form of anti-colonialism may seem to be a political phenomenon. But hidden beneath it there are some deeper
spiritual underpinnings of a distinctly sinister nature.
So here is a very interesting thing to take note of. Some of these raging anti-colonialist people are not necessarily natives who had been exploited. These people can be Europeans themselves! And yet they nurse in their heart a very deeply held hatred and a malignant animosity against the West, or a deep hidden resentment against something or
Someone who is being lifted up in the West. What is going on here?
Our first clue is simply this. These people are forever restless. They are inconsolable on this matter of Western influence upon native people in native lands. Their anger extends into many other areas as well, as we shall discuss. They have not found peace in themselves, peace with God, or peace with their fellow man. Angry people like this do not play well with others. They are unhappy with the world they live in and there remains this inner angst that tears at them on the inside. This raging anger drives them into extreme political views and activities that are subversive. Anti-colonialists of the radical kind are engaged in more than just party politics. As we shall discover, this anger is aimed directly at the Judeo-Christian hope that comes out of the West. They are in fact holding a party in their heart for some particularly virulent raging spirits, spirits that never let them go and never let them find peace. What is really going on here?
There is a militant agenda behind the raging sort of anti-colonialism. Of course the communists have used it to the full as they have rage against the Western powers. The animosity, the fear, the dread, and the resulting anger and the raging goes far beyond race and national politics. The hard-line attitude of these driven souls cannot be entreated by reasonable discussion. The raging is absolutely insatiable.
So raging anti-colonialism is not to be underestimated. It is insatiable in its appetite for dominion and in its lust for power over the masses.
Wars are fought against common enemies that threaten and exploit. Men go to war for the love they have for their families and for their land. Wars come and go. They generally do not last a lifetime. They end up being won and coming to an end with some sort of peace and a new opportunity to make a fresh start. Under the administration of the victor, a new peace ensues. And with that come fresh new opportunities. People and nations have a chance to vent their anger in the war. Afterwards they are ready to settle down and move on with their lives. They marry, settle down, and live happily; . . . . . at least until the next big issue of contention comes to the fore.
So people and nations speak out in their politics. And occasionally they wage war against those that exploit them. If they can't beat the foe in the war they join them in the peace that they bring in afterwards. This is the normal pattern of events. It has been seen in history countless times since time immemorial.
During the post World War 2 era the West was seeking to promote peaceful trade and prosperity throughout the world at that time.
Even people who have been brutally treated can get over their anti-colonialism and often appreciate the good things the imperial powers brought into the country such as the railroads, bridges, new trade opportunities. In the case of the British Empire some of the former colonies gained political independence and yet still enjoyed a measure of what was hopefully called a "common-wealth" of nations. After the colonial uprisings and the independence a new day dawns. The nationals often let go of the searing animosity they had formerly held. This is the normal pattern of events that is often seen. The animosity fades away.
Unless, of course, there is something far deeper and more sinister is lurking in the depths.
There is indeed a
root cause of raging anti-colonialism that fully explains it.
Some levels of Anti-Colonialism are understandable. There is no doubt the Western powers demonstrated heavy-handedness as they colonized the third world.
There are no accidents of history. Titanic sailed out of Southampton in 1912. Colonial arrogance reached the heavens with the statement, "Not even God Himself could sink her!" Two years later British young men were in the trenches in France being shelled and machine gunned by the Germans. World War 1 was under way. The toll of lives killed in action during that terrible conflict was awful beyond telling. It signaled the beginning of the end of the colonial era. Was God correcting the great imperial Western powers and punishing them for their hubris? Why do wars typically come against nations when they reach the peak of their national pride? Did not the World Wars come to the West in some degree as a consequence of national hubris and insolent colonial pride? The "war to end all wars" took the West into the bloodiest history it had ever experienced. 20 million men died in that war. And neither side won. The war with Germany continued a generation later, this time taking 50 million lives.
The poetry of Rudyard Kipling became very well known and loved throughout the British Commonwealth during the late 19th Century. The indolence and lack of gumption among the British clergy at that time was legendary. They had become lapdogs to the British power elites and the aristocracy. In the gap God had chosen a coarse and yet incisive poet to say what needed to be said. His poem, "Lest we forget" had been written on the occasion of Queen Victoria's silver jubilee and was read by millions. It was a warning to Great Britain concerning her greed and the Godless hubris that was now evident in her Empire building. But there was no repentance. And then the war came and the loss of life among the young men of Great Britain and the British Commonwealth was staggering. After World War 1 the meaning of the phrase, "Lest we forget" was changed from the poet's original intent, It was effectively switched from "Lest we forget our God" to "Lest we forget our fallen soldiers".
Nations, (as well as people), reap what they sow. World War 1 was the great tragedy that came to the West at the peak of the colonial era. Did it come as a correction from above for all this colonial exploitation and excess?
There was much pondering of the hearts in Western Christendom after World War 1. But there was very little in the way of national repentance. Man-centered
Rationalism the swelling pride of the machine age, and the hubris of the Western colonial powers still held sway. Very little national repentance was seen in the West after World War 1 and not much to be seen in the way of any significant spiritual awakening. All the West got from "The War to End All Wars" were crippling reparations levied upon Germany and tight British purse strings. The fading British superpower knew that another war with Germany was inevitable. So they were in no mood to go out and spend their British sterling on international development. They knew they had to save their money. They knew that they would have to finance the coming war. The British superpower tightened the purse strings. This caused a Great Depression. It was an economic disaster which deeply affected the West and went on to engulf the entire world.
As we know, the Great Depression ended when the Second World War with Germany began. During 1940 Hitler was proceeding to conquer practically all of Europe. The Brits were making their lone stand against him in the Battle of Britain. Churchill went on a shopping trip to the US to buy arms. "Give us the tools and we will do the job!" Churchill told the Americans. A torrent of British money rushed into the USA with "lend-lease". British gold was crossing the Atlantic on its way to America for the purchase of armaments. Fort Knox was being stacked with British gold. And as the Second World War came to its conclusion with the dropping of two atom bombs on Japan and the Breton-Woods agreement was signed the Pax Brittania gave way to the Pax Americana. The baton passed on from one great English-speaking nation to another. And the U.S. had now become the new superpower of Western Christendom.
America has been the superpower of the West ever since. It probably will remain so until some very climactic
seven year covenant is signed at some point in the future. The Western nations in Europe are already sinking into financial insolvency. European nations are clutching hold of the strong nation of Germany. It seems that German standards may well save the Euro. Europe in turn is also being bailed out by America. There could well turn out to be an all-encompassing sovereign debt crisis engulfing all the Western nations. And the conclusion of an expensive
future war involving Islam may see the West go O.B.E,. "overcome by events". Future times could see the U.S. along with Europe and the rest of the nations of the world sell off their wealth, their land, their flags, and eventually the servitude of their people. Did we not see this pattern play out way back at the beginning when the patriarchs of Israel came under the discipline of Joseph? In such a scenario the nations would dissolve into a
New World Order.
The colonial powers were heavy handed and exploitative as history will attest. But the Western nations did much for India, Africa, and many other parts of the world. There was the trade, the railways, shipping, new and better ways of doing things. The largest English language speaking country is India with a billion people. English provides a basis for world trade and communication. Western ideals of freedom, both the good and the bad, are now being championed under the American superpower in the West.
fr. The Writings of Dinesh D'Souza
