What is kind of sad is the only way to really stop communists is to give up basic politeness, civility, empathy, and benefit of the doubt
Because all of those are weaponized entry points used to hammer against wedge issues and sneak in edge cases that forward their agenda
We need a new paradigm that recognizes the inherent vulnerability in "freedom" in that expression of "individual rights" of some can be used to undermine and destroy the social structures that are meant to guarantee those rights for all.
So those "some" need to be legally oppressed in order for the whole to survive.
We can argue exactly where those lines should be drawn but it is fairly obvious that the lines do need to be drawn.
Eh, guess I'll take the opposite opinion of you and u/acp_k2win because I firmly believe that freedom of speech can prevent most problems, including takeover by communists, when society hasn't already been taken over to the degree that it self-censors common sense discussion. I say can because the pen may fail just as easily as the sword, but that doesn't mean it's not a powerful weapon. As you pointed out, communists know that very well and are masters at using language in a deceptive way to push their ideology. (In fact I've heard someone describe Marxism as a type of perfectly designed mind-virus - it appeals to our souls in the same way a religion does, tapping into a primitive human need to impose order and harmony to stamp out sins like greed that cause suffering.)
That doesn't mean that words can't fight it in the early stages. Our words aren't to convince the communist, they are for the weak and young that typically fall prey to the communist's promises. You need to propagandize children in a way that shows them exactly what communism is, the evils it brings, and why. You can't just say it's evil, you have to explain why it sounded so promising and how flavors of Marxism (critical theory, etc) can be applied to all aspects of society - and then deconstruct it, with all the negative examples of its implementation and a healthy discussion of economics demonstrating how it's a complete fantasy in the first place. Then you won't have college students thinking it's the new hip thing that just hasn't been tried yet. Someone seriously promoting it must be seen as a joke, or a danger.
It's missing the mark to assume "looks like that whole individual freedom thing doesn't work so well" when we haven't even done the most basic of anti-communist teachings, and we've actually had the opposite with generations of students being taught "communism light" at best.
I wish it was that simple, but it won't work. Communists never work that way. They always take existing institutions, and expand them. The very nature of any government program is communistic, because you are forced to pay for them no matter how stupid and incompetent they are. That is their starting point, they always take the existing pressure points and expand them incrementally, and the armies of bureaucrats who want more power and money, are always happy to go along with it.
To stop communism in society, you need systemic changes. Kill the central banks, kick government out of the money business and use money like cryptos or gold, kick the government out of schooling, health care, and retirement.
communism is led ,funded and controlled by the same "elites", who were the same "people" who invented communism in the first place. . And communism has always destroyed tradition, culture, religion and people ,and taken away all the ordinary people's wealth and turning them in to bugmen.
Captialism was running just fine until the jew nation attacked the early 1900s when communist subversives set to work dismantling every positive aspect of western culture. Communism has destroyed every nation it touches. The US is still running because of captialism. Deal with it.
yawn
Let me know when feminism is banned.
What is kind of sad is the only way to really stop communists is to give up basic politeness, civility, empathy, and benefit of the doubt
Because all of those are weaponized entry points used to hammer against wedge issues and sneak in edge cases that forward their agenda
We need a new paradigm that recognizes the inherent vulnerability in "freedom" in that expression of "individual rights" of some can be used to undermine and destroy the social structures that are meant to guarantee those rights for all.
So those "some" need to be legally oppressed in order for the whole to survive.
We can argue exactly where those lines should be drawn but it is fairly obvious that the lines do need to be drawn.
Eh, guess I'll take the opposite opinion of you and u/acp_k2win because I firmly believe that freedom of speech can prevent most problems, including takeover by communists, when society hasn't already been taken over to the degree that it self-censors common sense discussion. I say can because the pen may fail just as easily as the sword, but that doesn't mean it's not a powerful weapon. As you pointed out, communists know that very well and are masters at using language in a deceptive way to push their ideology. (In fact I've heard someone describe Marxism as a type of perfectly designed mind-virus - it appeals to our souls in the same way a religion does, tapping into a primitive human need to impose order and harmony to stamp out sins like greed that cause suffering.)
That doesn't mean that words can't fight it in the early stages. Our words aren't to convince the communist, they are for the weak and young that typically fall prey to the communist's promises. You need to propagandize children in a way that shows them exactly what communism is, the evils it brings, and why. You can't just say it's evil, you have to explain why it sounded so promising and how flavors of Marxism (critical theory, etc) can be applied to all aspects of society - and then deconstruct it, with all the negative examples of its implementation and a healthy discussion of economics demonstrating how it's a complete fantasy in the first place. Then you won't have college students thinking it's the new hip thing that just hasn't been tried yet. Someone seriously promoting it must be seen as a joke, or a danger.
It's missing the mark to assume "looks like that whole individual freedom thing doesn't work so well" when we haven't even done the most basic of anti-communist teachings, and we've actually had the opposite with generations of students being taught "communism light" at best.
I wish it was that simple, but it won't work. Communists never work that way. They always take existing institutions, and expand them. The very nature of any government program is communistic, because you are forced to pay for them no matter how stupid and incompetent they are. That is their starting point, they always take the existing pressure points and expand them incrementally, and the armies of bureaucrats who want more power and money, are always happy to go along with it.
To stop communism in society, you need systemic changes. Kill the central banks, kick government out of the money business and use money like cryptos or gold, kick the government out of schooling, health care, and retirement.
Sounds like they'll have to kick out the Pope.
Killed more westerners than covid - so there is that
communism is led ,funded and controlled by the same "elites", who were the same "people" who invented communism in the first place. . And communism has always destroyed tradition, culture, religion and people ,and taken away all the ordinary people's wealth and turning them in to bugmen.
Captialism was running just fine until
the jew nation attackedthe early 1900s when communist subversives set to work dismantling every positive aspect of western culture. Communism has destroyed every nation it touches. The US is still running because of captialism. Deal with it.