This week we will look at the final three areas of concern for the citizens of a free nation that are under attack by outside influence…individual freedom and civil liberties, education, and labor. All have an impact on the citizens in a free society…and that is why they are under attack.
> Is there any opportunity for freedom and democracy under Communism? “We say: ‘A la guerre comme a la guerre’; we do not promise freedom nor any democracy.” (Comment by Engels in Selected Works, Vol. IX, p. 242).
> Does this mean that Communism does not believe that men should be free and equal in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? “As long as classes exist, all arguments about freedom and equality should be accompanied by the question: Freedom for which class? And for what purpose? The equality of which class with which? And in what relation?” (Comment by Engels in Selected Works, Vol. X, p. 266).
> Is it not the desire to have freedom and equality for all classes? “We do not want freedom for the bourgeoisie.” (Comment by Engels in Selected Works, Vol. X, p. 266).
> But do not the people in Communist satellites want freedom and equality for their citizens? “Anyone who talks about freedom and equality within the limits of toiler democracy, i.e., conditions under which the capitalists are overthrown while property and free trade remain…is a defender of the exploiters.” (Comment by Engels in Selected Works, Vol. X, p. 266).
> Do the Communists believe in freedom at all? “While the state exists, there is no freedom. When freedom exists, there will be no state.” (V.I. Lenin, Selected Works, Vol. VIII, p. 87).
> But the Soviet Union still preserves the state. Does this mean that the government of Russia is not intended to promote the freedom of the Russian people? “So long as the proletariat still uses the state it does not use it in the interest of freedom but in order to hold down its adversaries.” (Quoted by Lenin in his Selected Works, Vol. VII, p. 81)
> Then must it be concluded that in Russia, Communists do not even pretend to have civil liberties which are enjoyed in nations such as the United States? “In our state, naturally there is and can be no place for freedom of speech, press, and so on for the foes of socialism. Every sort of attempt on their part to utilize to the detriment of the state, that is to say, to the detriment of all the toilers…these freedoms granted to the toilers, must be classified as a counter-revolutionary crime.” (Vyshinsky, Law of the Soviet State, MacMillan Co., New York 1948, p. 617).
> Supposing there was a person living in Russia who wanted to publish a newspaper which criticized the government. Would that person be granted the same freedom of press that is enjoyed in America? “What freedoms of the press have you in mind? Freedom of the press for which class…the bourgeoisie or the proletariat? If it is a question of freedom of the press for the bourgeoisie, then it does not and will not exist here as long as the proletarian dictatorship exists.” (Joseph Stalin, Leninism, Vol. I, p. 403)
> Then does that mean that freedom of the press is only for the privileged proletariat? Would it not include a common citizen? “We have no freedom of the press for the bourgeoisie. We have no freedom of the press for the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, who represent the interests of the beaten and overthrown bourgeoisie. But what is there surprising in that?We have never pledgedourselves to grant freedom of the press to all classes, and to make all classes happy.” (Joseph Stalin, Leninism, Vol.I, p. 404).
> In that case, how can a government fairly administer its laws unless they apply equally to all the people? “Dictatorship is power based upon force and unrestricted by any laws. The revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is power won and maintained by the violence of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie…power that is unrestricted by any laws.” (V.I. Lenin, Selected Works, Vol. VII, p.123). Personal comment…keep this in mind as you observe the actions of some of our politicians both at the national, state, and county levels.)
> If laws are against classes rather than violators, how can there be any justice? “The task of justice in the USSR (today’s Russia) is to assure the precise and unswerving fulfillment of Soviet laws by all the institutions, organizations, officials and citizens of the USSR. This the court accomplishes by destroying without pity all the foes of the people in whatever form they manifest their criminal encroachments upon socialism. (Ditto my personal comment above.) (Andrei Y. Vysshinsky, The Law of the Soviet State, p. 498).
Now we will touch on education and the priority Communists give that subject.
> How would the Communists describe the objectives of education in Russia? “It is in the schools, at the desk, in the first class, that the foundations for a Communist outlook are laid in future Soviet citizens. The country entrusts the school with its most treasured possessions…its children…and no one should be allowed to indulge in the slightest deviation from the principles of Communist materialistic upbringing of the new generation.” (Remember that recently parents who complained at a school board meeting were labeled by the government as ‘domestic terrorists.”) (Literary Gazette, September 3, 1949).
> Would it not be better to give students a broad view of all governments and different economies so they could draw their own conclusions? “The Soviet school cannot be satisfied to rear merely educated persons. Basing itself on the facts and deductions of progressive science, it should instill the ideology of Communism in the minds of the young generation, shape a Marxist-Leninist world outlook and inculcate the spirit of Soviet patriotism and Bolshevik ideas in them.” (“For Further Progress in Soviet Schools”, taken from Culture and Life, August 31, 1947). “It is important that pupils should clearly realize the doom of the capitalistic world, its inevitable downfall, that they should see on the other hand the great prospects of our socialist system, and actively get prepared when they leave school to be ready to take their place in life, in the struggle for a new world, for Communism.” (Teacher’s Gazette, September 13, 1947). We cannot have a republic without a well-educated public, otherwise the public must be ruled by government.
Now we will conclude with a quick look at labor. This is the class of citizen that Communism tries to act as though it represents. We will see…you decide.
> Since Communism claims to represent the interests of the laboring class, what is the official Communist attitude toward the labor movement? “It will be necessary…to agree to any and every sacrifice, and even…if need be…to resort to all sorts of devices, maneuvers and illegal methods, to evasion and subterfuge, in order to penetrate into trade unions, to remain in them, and to carry on Communist work in them at all costs.” (V.I. Lenin, Left-Wing Communism, p. 38).
> Might the average American working man and woman be interested in knowing what the Communists do when they control a labor union. How do Communists treat labor unions in Russia where they have complete control? “The local (Communist) party organization elects one of its suitable members to become president of the trade union. Generally speaking, the Soviet trade unions have to see that the workers execute the program.” (Quoted by Victor Kravchenko, a former Soviet government who defected, in House Un-American Activities Committee publication, 100 Things You Should Know About Communism, US Government Printing Office, 1949, p. 78).
> Doesn’t that make the union a subservient arm of the government rather than an organization of workers? What if a nation wanted to strike? “The union’s job is to see that strict discipline is maintained, that there will be no strikes, that the workers work for wages established by the central government, that the workers carry out all the decisions, resolutions, et cetera, of the party.” (Quoted in House Un-American Activities Committee publication, 100 Things You Should Know About Communism, US Government Printing Office, 1949, p. 78).
> What happens if a worker in Russia wanted to quit his/her job? “Every citizen in the Soviet Union has a passport. On the passport is his/her photograph. There is also a special page on which a stamp is put which indicates the place, date and type of employment. If you leave your job in one factory and go to another without the permission of your director, you will be prosecuted under the law for violation of the law prohibiting unauthorized change of employment. This refers not only to laborers, but to any kind of employee.” (Quoted in House Un-American Activities Committee publication, 100 Things You Should Know About Communism, US Government Printing Office, 1949, pp. 78-79).
> Finally, is this the hope for humanity which the Soviet offers the world? “The Soviet is an inspiring example for the proletarian revolution in the rest of the world…[It] shows the powerful achievements of the victorious proletarian and the vast superiority of Socialist to Capitalist economy. The Soviet Union is an inspiring example for the national self-determination of the oppressed peoples.” (Fundamentals of Communism, published by the Communist Party of America, p. 19)
For the past 78 weeks I have been writing about the involvement of Communism in our national lifestyle. I hope I have put everyone on alert as to the threats that we are surrounded with. Satan does not at all care for a system where his tactics can be brought into the light. It’s tough for ‘him’ to operate when his potential ‘victims’ know and can recognize his efforts. Knowing those tactics though is not enough. We must not fall for them; we must be willing to take a stand against them, and we must know and understand how God has blessed us and pass that along to posteriority that will be tasked to carry on. God’s church is tasked to play a major part and not playing that part will be a dereliction of duty to God and the people.
Next week we will start a new series on what it takes to build a free nation. Spectators and people who are fascinated with themselves will not do it. It takes faith in God, vision, determination, love of others, and a willingness to sacrifice. Jesus and the Apostles knew this and acted on it.
-Bob Munsey
“The promise of God is that no matter what our problem, we can have peace in solving it.” Hope in a Chaotic World, Ray C. Stedman from a study of First and Second Thessalonians
Geezer Politics 