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Oct. 4th, 2006 01:51 pmSorry there has been no update lately. Not much to tell, life is just trudging on without excitement.
In class, I'm studying the USSR's involvement/responsibility for World War 2. Every now and then, I learn something new in my history classes that I was previously completely clueless about. Such is the case this week. I never knew Stalin was so responsible for "letting" Hitler get such a foothold in Europe. Of course, I've always heard what a horrible person Stalin was but until I started reading about him in depth the past couple weeks, I was ignorant about what an impact his reign actually had on the world. Not only was he responsible for assisting Hitler, but he also killed millions of his own countrymen and aided Mao in coming to power. Is it any coincidence that Stalin, Hitler and Mao are all linked with the blood of millions on their hands? No. It seems that Stalin played a part in all of it.
Growing up on Army bases in the 1980's, my teachers often lectured about the evils of Communism. At the time, I didn't quite get it. I didn't understand what the threat was, why we (in the US) were so worried about something that seemed so distant.
I get it now. It wasn't about Communism just in the USSR. Stalin, and communism, was about world revolution. Yeah, that's something I never realized until now. I need to go back and read some Ayn Rand again. I think I'd see it in a totally different light now.
In class, I'm studying the USSR's involvement/responsibility for World War 2. Every now and then, I learn something new in my history classes that I was previously completely clueless about. Such is the case this week. I never knew Stalin was so responsible for "letting" Hitler get such a foothold in Europe. Of course, I've always heard what a horrible person Stalin was but until I started reading about him in depth the past couple weeks, I was ignorant about what an impact his reign actually had on the world. Not only was he responsible for assisting Hitler, but he also killed millions of his own countrymen and aided Mao in coming to power. Is it any coincidence that Stalin, Hitler and Mao are all linked with the blood of millions on their hands? No. It seems that Stalin played a part in all of it.
Growing up on Army bases in the 1980's, my teachers often lectured about the evils of Communism. At the time, I didn't quite get it. I didn't understand what the threat was, why we (in the US) were so worried about something that seemed so distant.
I get it now. It wasn't about Communism just in the USSR. Stalin, and communism, was about world revolution. Yeah, that's something I never realized until now. I need to go back and read some Ayn Rand again. I think I'd see it in a totally different light now.