All These Years And Still No Revolution
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Here's a list of things to do.
1. Corrupt the young; get them away from religion. Get them interested in sex. Make them superficial. Destroy their ruggedness.
2. Get control of all means of publicity.
3. Get people's minds off their government by focusing their attention on athletics, sexy books and plays and other trivialities.
4. Divide the people into hostile groups by constantly harping on controversial matters of no real importance.
5. Destroy the people's faith in their natural leaders by holding the latter up to contempt, ridicule and disgrace.
6. Always preach true democracy, but seize power as fast and ruthlessly as possible.
7. Encourage government extravagance, thereby destroying its credibility.
8. Produce fear of inflation with rising prices and general discontent.
9. Incite unnecessary strikes in vital industries. Encourage civil disorders and foster a lenient and soft attitude on the part of government toward such disorders.
10. By specious argument, cause the breakdown of the old moral virtues, honesty, sobriety, self-restraint and faith in the pledged word.
11. Cause the registration of all firearms on some pretext, with a view to confiscating them and leaving the population helpless.
This is a partial list of "Communist Rules for Revolution" that was obtained by the allied forces in May 1919, in Dusseldorf, Germany.
The Times-Union published the list on the editorial page back in 1973. Earlier this week, we had a request for a copy of the list from a former reader who now lives in Virginia.
He remembered the list and that it was printed in the '70s, but that was all. After all these years, Norm Hagg kept a copy of the list around. We faxed it to the guy in Virginia.
After that, I thought it might make interesting reading in 1996.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not an alarmist. I don't think the government is quietly trying to subvert all our liberties. And I don't think we're on the brink of a revolution.
A couple things come to mind after reading the list.
Some of the things the list encourages are happening in our country right now. The list seems pretty prophetic in that regard.
I'll bet Times-Union readers in 1973 thought it was prophetic back then, too. But in the past 23 years, things haven't exactly degenerated into revolution.
And my guess is that 23 years from now, we won't be any closer to a revolution than we are today.
I guess it's just one more proof of the old adage: The more things change, the more they stay the same. [[In-content Ad]]
Here's a list of things to do.
1. Corrupt the young; get them away from religion. Get them interested in sex. Make them superficial. Destroy their ruggedness.
2. Get control of all means of publicity.
3. Get people's minds off their government by focusing their attention on athletics, sexy books and plays and other trivialities.
4. Divide the people into hostile groups by constantly harping on controversial matters of no real importance.
5. Destroy the people's faith in their natural leaders by holding the latter up to contempt, ridicule and disgrace.
6. Always preach true democracy, but seize power as fast and ruthlessly as possible.
7. Encourage government extravagance, thereby destroying its credibility.
8. Produce fear of inflation with rising prices and general discontent.
9. Incite unnecessary strikes in vital industries. Encourage civil disorders and foster a lenient and soft attitude on the part of government toward such disorders.
10. By specious argument, cause the breakdown of the old moral virtues, honesty, sobriety, self-restraint and faith in the pledged word.
11. Cause the registration of all firearms on some pretext, with a view to confiscating them and leaving the population helpless.
This is a partial list of "Communist Rules for Revolution" that was obtained by the allied forces in May 1919, in Dusseldorf, Germany.
The Times-Union published the list on the editorial page back in 1973. Earlier this week, we had a request for a copy of the list from a former reader who now lives in Virginia.
He remembered the list and that it was printed in the '70s, but that was all. After all these years, Norm Hagg kept a copy of the list around. We faxed it to the guy in Virginia.
After that, I thought it might make interesting reading in 1996.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not an alarmist. I don't think the government is quietly trying to subvert all our liberties. And I don't think we're on the brink of a revolution.
A couple things come to mind after reading the list.
Some of the things the list encourages are happening in our country right now. The list seems pretty prophetic in that regard.
I'll bet Times-Union readers in 1973 thought it was prophetic back then, too. But in the past 23 years, things haven't exactly degenerated into revolution.
And my guess is that 23 years from now, we won't be any closer to a revolution than we are today.
I guess it's just one more proof of the old adage: The more things change, the more they stay the same. [[In-content Ad]]