"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by the gradual and silent encroachment of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpation."
President James Madison (1751-1836) speech, Virginia Convention, 1788


Eleven score and 13 years ago, our founding fathers pledged to each other, as recorded in the Declaration of Independence, their "lives, [their] fortunes and [their] sacred honor" and embarked upon the great experiment known to us as The United States of America. It was to be a true republic- in the words of Abraham Lincoln, a government "of the people, by the people, for the people" guided by divine providence. It was a dream that they shed sweat, blood and tears to achieve. It was a dream defended on the battlefield, in the courthouse, and in the hearts and minds of our earliest patriots. It is a dream realized.
Today there are more than three-hundred-million people lucky enough to call themselves "Americans" and lay claim to the unparalleled heritage of our great country. People from all nationalities, races, and tongues have journeyed here just so that they too might be a part of this great dream and claim the promised blessings of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" for their posterity. Through hard work, determination, and a little inspiration they let our capitalist, free economy work for them.
Just like the legal immigrant, I, too, love America. I have lived, worked, and grown to manhood in this atmosphere of freedom. I have been a student of its history, purpose, and theology since I was a boy. I feel especially blessed to be an American after the two years I spent living in the heart of Russia. In Siberia, I learned the Russian language, culture, customs, and history and feel so very fortunate that our country has thus far been spared their dark heritage of tyrants, bloody revolutions, and communism.
As a student of the histories of both of these nations, it not only became apparent to me that there were reasons for the rise of Socialism and the Soviet Union, but that trends similar to those reasons exist in the United States today. Trends that if not halted, I'm sorry to say, will lead us down a long and destructive road toward a fate similar to our Russian friends. Many of these trends may seem harmless, or even appealing such as "universal health care." But behind the campaign promises lies a threat to our hard-won liberties. Although appealing, this progressive movement toward socialism must be halted or our great nation will find itself slowly robbed of its liberties and freedoms in the name of "security" and "welfare."
It shall now be our opportunity to explore the histories of Russia and the United States in order to compare, contrast, and decide for ourselves what our future shall be. As one of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln, once said, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
I would argue that the downfall of Russia's freedom came in small, yet progressive, steps-- a pilgrimage to a new order. This journey was marked by four flags, or landmarks. They remain warning signs of things to come if we continue on our present course. We may walk on opposite sides of the road from our neighbors but, if we are not careful, we will inevitably pass the same markers and arrive at the same destination. With this in perspective, it is easy to see the correlation in our histories.
The first marker came during a time when the people were starting to lose faith in their government: Terrorism. In 1870, years before the October Revolution of 1917, the "Narodnaya Volya", or "People's Will", organization changed their tactics to terror. After many attempts, they finally succeeded in assassinating not only Czar Alexander II, the great emancipator, but also his son Czar Alexander III. Although many of its members and leaders were captured and tried, the damage had been done. (Heyman) The Russian people were gripped with fear, and they began to doubt the strength of their own government. The proud and strong nation that had defeated Napoleon began now to quiver in fear. Something very similar to this has happened to us in recent years.
We all remember the tragic events of 9/11. That day the earth itself seemed to stand still for all Americans. Had those terrorists not been foiled on flight 77, they would have succeeded in destroying the White House. They might have even killed our president in addition to all the other lives they took. We all remember that day because the unthinkable happened. We never believed that it could happen to us, but it did. Our faith was shaken. Many of us turned to God, and even more to family and friends for sanctuary-- for some anchor in our now turbulent lives.
While we are not necessarily at fault for this incident, it nevertheless remains a landmark for America on this Socialist Pilgrimage. We should not hold ourselves responsible or accountable for the terrorists' actions on 9/11. Yet, even so, a mighty change was wrought in our American mindset: we realized that we were not invincible. The reason that this is so important is because we no longer felt secure. As we will further investigate, it is the sad nature of free men in times of crisis to trade liberty for security. To quote another of our great Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
The classic example of this principle is ancient Rome. In times of war or crisis, the senate and the people would hand over power to a Caesar. He was then to efficiently handle the situation through his absolute use of power, and then turn the government back over to the people. Cincinnatus was the poster child for this form of government. He was the great example: a farmer who became king during crisis, and then just gave the power right back in order to return to work. However, there came a time when the people handed power, and their freedoms, to the Caesar- and he never returned them. (Koch) This serves as a powerful reminder for us-- not all men can be trusted with our liberties. Even in desperate times, we must remain ever vigilant to protect the precious freedoms we have.
As we continue on this journey, the next landmark to catch our eye is economic crisis. In the years immediately preceding the start of World War 1, Russia found itself in turmoil. The industrialist boom that had swept the nation had now reduced itself to a few glowing embers of growth. Working conditions were horrible, the pay was worse, and the laborers were forced to work overtime. Aside from the outrageous expansion and industrialization projects, such as the Trans-Siberian Railroad, blame for the crisis can be found in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05. As George F. Kennan, political scientist and former ambassador to the Soviet Union wrote: "It had been a folly, of course, for Russia to involve itself ... in 1904-05 in the war against Japan. This alone [in spite of other economic and social turmoil] had brought the country to the very brink of revolution."
At first it may be difficult for us to imagine how this could have any relevancy to our situation in America, but in all reality this landmark has come and gone while we were sleeping, as it were. Our nation currently faces an economic crisis. Along with the devaluation of our currency we have witnessed some of the highest unemployment rates since the great depression. Compound this with very controversial wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that we have been unsuccessful in concluding. Anyone can see that our circumstances are a startling parallel to those of Russia at the turn of the twentieth century. Some would argue that our wars were of liberation, while the Russo-Japanese War was one of greed and conquest. While that may be true, our wars now are just as controversial as the Russians' war in 1904. It is important to remember that while the landmarks remain the same for the journey of both countries, our individual paths may vary in great, or small, degree.
We have thus far mirrored the journey of the Russians toward Socialism. Our confidence was first shaken through acts of terror, and then further undermined by poor economic conditions and controversial, money-sucking war. It was at this point in their history that Russians looked for a means to "provide for their future security." (Declaration) It was at this time that a "savior" emerged. A man who advocated radical change. A man that promised all who followed him "mir, zemlya, i kleb" or "peace, land, and bread"-- the three things all Russians craved. A man whose older brother had been executed for his affiliation with the terrorist group "Narodnaya Volya". A man who called himself Vladimir Illyich Lenin.
Unlike the contemporary Russians, we have the advantage of looking at Lenin from a historical perspective. While he promised change, peace, relief, and prosperity, only change was realized-- and immediately regretted. Lenin's true agenda, masked as socialism was "a desire to transform the USSR into a 'proletarianesque' superpower under [his] personal control, with some limited delegation of authority to the Communist Party elite." (Rosefielde) This, then, becomes our third landmark: government leaders, or other people of influence, pushing their socialist agenda upon a people in crisis. This has happened to America, and it is happening now.
The New Deal's economic overhaul which included the delegation of new and unchecked powers to the Executive Branch, nationalization of businesses, and several "economic plans" such as welfare were all very much socialist. Garet Garrett, a prominent author and journalist for The Wall Street Journal and New York Times in the early 20th century wrote in his book "The People's Pottage" that for President Roosevelt "capitalism, obliquely symbolized by the money-changer scourged out of the temple, was entirely to blame; capitalism was the one enemy, the one object to be hated. But it was never directly attacked or named; always it was the old order that was attacked.
This is how it happened in the past, but what about the present? Socialism has taken on many names and programs and patiently waits until the right moment to vie for public support. Perhaps the most well known guise is "universal health-care" or "socialized medicine." Socialized medicine is a terrible way to play on the emotions of people to win their support for the socialist agenda. "You don't want all the poor old people to die in the streets because they can't afford health care, do you?" ask government leaders of both parties. "Well, no. That sounds awful--" you begin, but they interrupt you again, "It does doesn't it! Glad we agree! Now sign here." "What am I signing?" you ask as you begin to scribble your name. "You are signing away your hard earned money to pay for the financially irresponsible. Have a nice day." The government tips their hats to you and leave you to suffer consequences that were not yours to bear.
As I previously stated: leaders of both parties have betrayed us with this secret agenda; the Republicans hands are dirty as well. Senator John McCain on MSNBC’s “Hardball” in the year 2000 had a conversation with a young woman about socialism in which he is quoted as saying, "Here’s what I really believe: That when you reach a certain level of comfort, there’s nothing wrong with paying somewhat more." The question is how much more? For another example, it was Republican President George Bush who began nationalizing banks and in his last term. Bush also tried to promote socialized medicine under the guise of "Medicare part D." But as we think of the advocates of socialized medicine one name rises above all the others in decibels, popularity, and power: Barrack Hussein Obama. I need cite no sources regarding his plans for change or "Yes we can!" chants because if you have spent one day in this country in the past few months chances are you've heard them about a dozen times. Obama is V.I. Lennin, the third landmark for America. One only needs to listen to one of his public speeches (and those won't be hard to find because, as pointed out by CNN, he is the most televised president in history) to hear of his plans for socialized medicine, wealth redistribution, and progressive change away from the old order. Sound familiar?
Socialism in any form is against the vision of the founders and the Constitution of the United States. To again quote the Declaration of Independence, we are guaranteed the right to "the pursuit of happiness." The word "pursuit" is key because it reminds us that we have the right to pursue-- to fight, to dream, to work-- not the right to reap what we have not sown. The socialist principles of "equality" in all things and of "wealth redistribution" are contrary to the Law of the Harvest and are doomed to failure. There is a reason that the socialist systems of Russia, Finland, Germany, Poland, Romania, and Mongolia, among dozens of others, did not stand the test of time as America has. Socialized medicine is only one way of forcibly taking what one has reaped and giving it to another who has not sown. Not only is it a blatant violation of one's right to enjoy the fruits of his own labors, but it glorifies the idle-- it is contrary to the whole system. Socialism kills the ambition of the people. Why dream of wealth if it will only be taken from you and given to another? As the great economist Thomas Sowell once said, "Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it."
Lucky for us, we have not yet reached the fourth and final landmark: National Crisis. Lenin, with all his ideas and promises still failed to gain any sort of real power until the outbreak of WWI that threw the great nation into a state of emergency. To again quote Mr. Kennan:

Up to the outbreak of war, to 1917 in fact, the leftist extremists had met with very limited success. In the final prewar years they had actually been losing political position and support. What changed all this, and gave them opportunities few of them had ever expected, was Russia's involvement in the war, and particularly the ill-considered attempt by the provisional government to continue the war effort into the summer of 1917, in the face of the epochal internal political crisis already brought about by the recent fall of the monarchy. (pg. 169)


This final landmark, this national crisis, will be the last straw. The people have had their faith shaken, they are in a state of subdued panic. As aforestated: it is the sad nature of free men in times of crisis to trade liberty for security. Socialists know this. According to the Socialist Party USA's own information, although they only had only 7000 members in the year 1920, only 12 short years later in the middle of the depression the Socialist candidate for President of the United states received almost 900,000 votes. (Socialist Party)
This is truly a mirror of things to come. When we arrive at this fourth landmark, it will only be a matter of time before the public writes the checks for security out of their waning, liberties-savings account. This national crisis theory is not unique to my way of thinking, either. To quote Obama's vice president, Joe Biden: "Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking... Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy." Even his own vice president was well aware of what was to follow.
Following the national crisis of WWI, the Bolsheviks succeeded in their coup. Taking power from the Russian people, the nation's progress, prosperity, and happiness were seized. For a vision of what happened next, I again turn to the words of Mr. Rosefielde:
The peasantry was forcibly collectivized, starved by political decree, and exiled in vast numbers. Millions were subsequently terrorized, consigned to Gulag, and an unknown number prematurely killed... Economic radicalism detached from the rule of law succeeded in wrecking lives and killing millions, but it's promises of material prosperity and social justice went unfulfilled. (pg. 1165)
Now, at this point I want to make it very clear to the reader that this is not a conspiracy theory. The intent is not to sway by way of fear, or to present a false premise or argument. I wish only to present a valid argument to the effect that we might watch and be wary. Anyone acquainted with history knows all too well that it has the disturbing habit of repeating itself. I have full faith that the American people are a great deal more intelligent, and more blessed, than were the Russians of 1917. I believe that when we see what is coming our way from over the horizon we can be prepared to make the correct decisions. The inspired men who founded this country had a dream. They dreamed that each citizen would educate himself and protect his own freedoms. As spoken by Thomas Paine, "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
I urge you to be wise when handling your liberties. Do not treat or trade them lightly, for they were purchased with the blood of our forefathers. Do not make rash decisions or fail to educate yourself simply because the ideals and complacency of socialism sound appealing. We must arise again to defend the liberties that we so often take for granted. To quote another of our founding fathers, Samuel Adams, "If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen."
Be wary of history's lessons; remember what socialism has done, and failed to do, throughout history. Educate yourselves and fulfill your duty as an American, an heir to the great legacy of this country, by standing by whatever cause you deem right, just, and true. That is what truly makes this country "E Pluribus Unum", or "Out of many, One". May we arise from our complacency and comfort to defend and protect the freedoms we daily take for granted, is my prayer.

Joshua Mckinney