Isabel Paterson

When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 I was 12 years old. It was something so foreign and vague, off in a distant universe. To imagine a population shackled in chains was impossible from my perspective - and equally, I imagine, a free society from theirs.

Only later did I discover the significance. When the Soviet Union collapsed, a great experiment was concluded. In 1917-22 the people of Russia overthrew a monarchical tyranny as the Americans had in 1776.

I know this post is out of line. I just saw the video (link below) and couldn't help writing down some thoughts. Maybe one of you will bite one of these days and tell me why I'm completely off the mark. Until then, I will enjoy my stomping ground :) so, anyway...

In a society already enslaved, it was the ideology that promised the most that was the most popular. The short-sighted deception of the Bolsheviks was so persuasive it convinced an army of followers to engage in bloody domination of their own people - crushing all who disagreed with them. Then, according to the ideology, the people handed all power to state. This was the very opposite solution that was chosen by our American forefathers and mothers when they broke free from tyranny. Thus the beginning of the great experiment.

The rest is history. The Soviet people soon, once again, became subjects of tyrannical rule. Millions were slaughtered to preserve the state.

Now, in our country, we are handed the same choice. With the power of government in bed with corporations, our plutocracy is quickly devolving into a soft form of fascism mixed with a socialist-friendly welfare state that is being taken advantage of by generations.

Right now we need to ask ourselves if we are going to trust the state to take care of us like the Soviets? Are we going to listen to the minds of Lennin, Marx, and Trotsky, to repeat the side of the experiment that failed in 1989 - perpetuated by the growth of state power in recent years by Bush II? Or, are we going to follow the great minds on the winning side: Mises, Kennedy, Reagan, Freidman, Greenspan, Taft, Spooner, Isabel Paterson, and back as far as Bastiat, Mill, Jefferson, Locke, Smith, Condorset, Franklin and Washington. And, before that, Socrates and Aristotle.

The Soviets could have saved their country in the 1980s if there was a tradition of liberty among the population. They could have legally restored power to its rightful place had their people been able to believe in themselves and their neighbors. We have that tradition. We are the bearers of the flame of freedom. We have the history, the intelligence, and the will to succeed. It is our responsibility to hold the flame of high as an example, and not blow it out through sedentary acceptance of what the state gives us (and takes away). We are the proof that individuals are the masters of their destiny and all peaceful individuals who agree are free to join us.