The Goebbels Thing

Tass Alright

My kids mimic me behind my back with "They're all Comminists," at opportune moments.  Payback, I guess, for branding too many communists communist, in a day when their formal schooling did little to explain its pernicious ugliness.  They are, right now, living with a signature aspect of communism, or any other totalitarian government, the politically controlled press. Tass. Truth, socialist style, in this instance.   It doesn't particularly bother them at the moment, because their values are largely molded by a lifetime of pervasive leftist doctrine.  The concept of frogs in hot water is, if anything, not appreciated.  In time they'll realize that there are no "news" alternatives. The internet?  Ask the Chinese. My bride informed me that women are enraged by this week's Newsweek Cover, featuring Sarah Palin.  Why?  Because she was shot in closeup, without make-up.  In stark contrast with Obama's Halo 666.  Maybe its a man thing, but I'm not offended by it.  Maybe because I love her.  What I am offended by are the words inside.  Words that charge her with being a mindless populist.  Words from the same people who fawn over the poseur. I am offended by the Business section story that redefines the handiwork of self serving democrat malversation as "Reagen's Deregulation Disaster - Never Again! “ Ideas are one of our most important exports, and two fundamentally American ideas have dominated global thinking since the early 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was elected president. The first was a certain vision of capitalism—one that argued low taxes, light regulation and a pared-back government would be the engine for economic growth. Reaganism reversed a century-long trend toward ever-larger government. Deregulation became the order of the day not just in the United States but around the world. The second big idea was America as a promoter of liberal democracy around the world, which was seen as the best path to a more prosperous and open international order. America's power and influence rested not just on our tanks and dollars, but on the fact that most people found the American form of self-government attractive and wanted to reshape their societies along the same lines—what political scientist Joseph Nye has labeled our "soft power." It's hard to fathom just how badly these signature features of the American brand have been discredited. ” I'm am not as worried about whether my kids recognize this chimera for what it is, as I am that they may know, and not care. PS - Thanks to my kids for standing in for the rest of America.