orb@whuts.UUCP (SEVENER) (12/03/85)
Jan made the following statement refuting my contention that the myth of a monolithic Communist conspiracy has been used for years (and still is) to justify American militarism: > > Never heard, or read *anyone* saying that. Reagan's "evil empire" > rhetoric was specifically directed at the USSR. > OK, Jan, here is the direct quote: "Let us be aware that while they [the Soviets] preach the supremacy of the state, declare its omnipotence over individual man, and predict its eventual domination of all peoples of the earth- they are the focus of evil in the modern world." 3/8/83 Or here's another statement by Reagan made in response to Ted Koppel's question about whether he still thought the Soviet Union was an evil empire: Reagan:" I have often quoted Lenin's statement that: "We will take Eastern Europe. We will organize the hordes of Asia. And then we will move into Latin America and we won't have to take the United States; it will fall into our outstretched hands like overripe fruit." " Is this quite clear, Jan? Not only did Reagan obviously refer to the Soviet Union and their designs to take over the US, I have found my colleagues totally believing that Lenin made such a statement. They believe it is utterly plausible. They also know nothing about Austria's neutrality, the independence of Yugoslavia, Rumania, and Albania: no American is taught these things, the complications of the real world as opposed to the simplistic myth of "Democracy" vs "Communism". tim sevener whuxn!orb