Now I'm just imagining them coming back down, combusting, and people thinking the war of Armageddon has begun.
Believe me or not OP, but I haven't suffered any issues due the vaccine, and neither have any of my friends who got vaccinated. I had 2 shots of Moderna's and two boosters by Pfizer. The worst reaction I had was to the 2nd shot, where I spent the day in bed with a fever, eating ice cream and playing Mario Golf: Super Rush. I haven't had issues with my heart, mind or body, and my life has been pretty mundane since.
More of a state of affairs than an endorsement. I probably could've made this meme better.
But France wasn't the only example of a republic at that time, and what even inspired the French revolution was the United States establishing itself after breaking away from England. The monarchies and empires of Europe feared republics because by definition, it means a country ruled without a monarch, and there were two successful examples popping up one after another, and inspiring republicans and other revolutionaries all around the world.
The term had negative connotations between monarchs, nobles, and conservatives because to them it meant losing the power they had spent centuries convincing people was their right by God. But to serfs, peasants, workers, and liberals, it was an aspirational term. The politics of the 19th century were defined by European monarchs trying to justify their rule, consolidate as much power as possible, and perpetuate their regimes as long as they possibly could, because many of them could see the writing on the wall.
The issue with the term Communism in the 21st century is it was mostly the poor and the marginalized that suffered under the Soviet Warsaw block, and Asian regimes. They see the symbols of communism and think not of liberation, equality, and unity, but of their former oppressors. There are probably plenty of former officers of officials that are Nostalgic for their Soviet past, one of them is waging a war against Ukraine right now. But to the people who the term is supposed to inspire, it brings pain to many of them.
I understand the appeals of the communist label as a westerner, because ever since the beginnings of the 20th century it has been demonized, almost to the point of seeming cool. Not to mention a lot of the same things the US has criticized the USSR of doing, it was guilty of itself. There will probably be a day when the US fades away as an empire, and all that will remain are its history, its symbols and its legacy. and I hope people are just as critical to those who ignore their history, bask in their symbols and glorify their legacy.
The difference between Hitler and the countries I mentioned is that Hitler already has a word associated with his regime: Nazi. When you here it in public, that is the connection you make. Unfortunately that is the same connection people make with communism and people like Stalin or Mao. Regardless of whether the Soviet Union was truly communist or not, it is the country most people associate with the term. Hell, even many leftists make that association, which is why the Soviet flag, communist leaders, and propaganda prints are featured heavily in many communist memes. I agree that the word communism shouldn't be tied to these regimes forever, but its hard to make a case for reclaiming it when many communist continue to push the association themselves.
Like I said, I mostly agree with the ideal expressed by Engels and Marx, but because of it's association most people make between communism and the the regimes mentioned above, I think we are doing ourselves a disservice by continuing to gather around symbols and iconography many people in Eastern Europe and Asians associate with imperialism, genocide, and tyranny.
I agree with your second point, which is why I do call myself an anarchist. I believe power is an irresistibly corrupting force, and it doesn't matter what the intentions are of the people who seize it, if there is too much of it concentrated in the hands of one person, organization, class, or country, it is going to corrupt them. That is why my ideal world would be one with no states, no large governments, no class divisions. where communities can more or less govern themselves according to their needs, and through cooperation and mutual aid, these communities can keep each other afloat, and stand together in times of need. Overly simplified, Let's say I listen to John Lennon's Imagine, and wish that could be us.
Yeah, and I've seen you around too, and you seem pretty cool, which I why I wanted to carry on this discussion. Forgive me that this thread kinda turned into a communist dunk as that actually wasn't my intention. I was more to show the types of people I usually see arguing in the threads. And no need for the push, I think anarchists are awesome, and its kinda the journey I took from being a conservative to a leftist. There is still a lot I'm learning and trying to unlearn from my past though.
Thanks for the reading material too.
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