Thursday, March 8, 2012

From a Writer Who Studies History...

I've written several books of historical fiction. The last two centered around communism. The Silence of God was set during the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, and Letters in the Jade Dragon Box takes place in China, and tells of the reign of Chairman Mao Tse-tung.

They were difficult books to write. As I dug deep for facts about these systems of government and the men who forced the communist ideology on their people, I unearthed the toll of human suffering caused by a flawed system and from horrific acts of cruelty. It has been calculated that during Mao's 27 year reign as leader of China, between 58-70 million of his countrymen died. And, since the country was not at war during this time period, these deaths were attributed to starvation, torture, execution, and suicide.

I know, I'm sorry...I'd much rather be writing a piece about a relaxing trip taken, or a funny story about my family, but I've been so alarmed by the cracks in America's foundation, that I can't keep quiet. I watch the political scene carefully, and I've never seen a Presidential administration so bent on undermining the basic principles of this country. This observation is not based on hear-say, but on actual words that have been said by President Obama and members of his close associates working with him in this administration. Caught on film are comments made by the President about how he wants to fundamentally change this country, how he wants to "spread the wealth," how he wishes he could do without Congress, and how he admires the disgraceful antics of Occupy Wall Street.

As a writer, I must write my feelings, and as I watch this great nation slide towards Socialism, my feelings are of anger and alarm.

As a writer, I must also write an appeal. Please, wake up America.

4 comments:

Cheri J. Crane said...

Gale, I've recently read both of your books mentioned in this blog post and I thought you did an outstanding job with each book. It has made me more appreciative of the freedoms we still enjoy in this country. And you're right, we need to do all we can to preserve these freedoms.

Anna Maria Junus said...

Not all socialism is bad if it means an end to homelessness and still allows people to succeed. Everyone deserves to have a shelter, food, clothing, medical care and an education and not everyone can get it no matter how hard they work (if they can get a job). If you look at the Book of Mormon, they were happiest when everyone had what they needed and they were the most blessed.

Jennie said...

Sorry, Anna, but in the Book of Mormon the people were most blessed when they gave freely to each other, not when government confiscated from the people then decided who should have it. Our present system has a lot of unfairness, partly because we're more selfish than we should be and do not freely share and because we have too many takers unwilling to do their share of the work. It's hard to find an appropriate balance and I don't think it can be found in the extremism of socialism nor in the me-ism of the far right. We need more people involved in the political process who are concerned with helping and pulling together instead of those who want to manipulate and control to protect their own interests or to gain power. Socialism creates dependency and those who are dependant on government or anyone else who controls their lives are only one step from slavery.

Anna Maria Junus said...

No one wants to take money away from the hard working employee, the middle class or the upper middle-class. If people freely gave then there wouldn't be homeless.

Poverty creates dependency. Poverty creates crime, want, and resentment. Hunger doesn't make someone stronger.

Few people control the majority of the money. And rich doesn't mean that you're more hardworking than someone who is poor. It just means you had more breaks in life.

You infer that those who get help will get lazy. Most people want more than the basics. Most people want to have something to do in their lives. To have the basics simply means that you can then go out and do something.

It's hard to get a job if you don't have an address. Homelessness can happen to anyone. If you were homeless, wouldn't you want help?

The people most at risk? Stay at home moms.

I'm sure there are takers who are unwilling to work. But there are takers who can't work because no one will hire them because there is always someone else with more experience, more connections, more education, or simply looks better.

Socialism is not communism. Socialism does not take away freedom. How free is someone who has nothing?