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Word Gems 

exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity

Dr. Irwin Weil

Professor of Russian Literature

the long but steady march toward totalitarianism

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My favorite segment of Dr. Weil’s lectures was his discussion of the epic novel by Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov, And Quiet Flows the Don [River].

Editor’s note: I use the term “favorite” guardedly as one’s spirit might easily fall into a sense of oppression with the ubiquitous atrocity one meets in this survey of Russian literature and history. There’s little joy in it.

Sholokhov’s writing centers upon a young Cassock, Grigori Panteleevich Melekhov, living in his ancestral farming-village. The Cassocks, for many generations, fierce warrior horsemen, wicked with a sword, held the balance of power in their region of Asia, allying with one, then another.

ground shifting under the feet of the Cassocks

But with the coming of World War I, the ground was shifting under the feet of the ancient cavalry-swordsmen. New wars would offer little place nor advantage for horses and swords, giving way now to larger war-machines and weapons of mass destruction.

It all happened so quickly that people like Melekhov and his fellow villagers couldn’t comprehend that they’d been rendered obsolete. What had worked so well for hundreds of years was taken away by a gust of wind in one day of cataclysmic change.

Editor’s note: This caught my imagination. I too grew up in a farming-village, one that would undergo profound metamorphosis. Somewhere in an old photobook, there’s a picture of my dad, c.1950. He’s atop a wagon-load of hay, drawn by a team of horses. This is the way it had been done for thousands of years. But, high above him in the wild blue yonder, like scouts from an alien world, Korean War jet fighter-planes screamed their unheralded entrance. The photo is iconic: the meeting of oxcart society with the results of Michael Faraday’s electromagnetism. The jets would pass by, and all was quiet again. But they would be back, followed by a never-ending train of technological gadgetry. In one cataclysmic day of change, it was over for the oxcart society. In the “holodeck” article, Kairissi and Elenchus speak of this seismic shift of modus vivendi, a "mode of living" or "way of life," seemingly as permanent as the Roman Empire, gone in a hot blink.

the socialists wanted Russia to lose World War I

Professor Weil points out that some of the Russian writers asserted that the Lenin socialists did not want Russia to win World War I. They were not patriotic, but loyal only to their own dreams of self-aggrandizement. Much better, they thought, to bring on an era of social, economic, and political chaos for Russia, allowing the socialists to step in as saviors of mankind with promise of utopia.

Editor's note: See the parallel in the United States today, with politicians of totalitarian leanings advocating un-American and destructive policies. This is purposeful design. They want, just as in the classic old days, for “all workers to unite” against the hated rich, the establishment – which coming-to-power, if consummated, they would intend to lead, of course. It's all about dictatorial power over the people.

When the Lenin socialists overthrew the Russian government in 1917, the Cassocks were among those – a long list, actually – marked as “threat to national security” – despots very frequently operate under the respectable banner of “threat to national security,” even though they themselves are the greatest threat to national security, peace, and good will. During the next few years, the Red Army would do its best to wage genocidal warfare against the sword-wielding horsemen. A million or more Cassocks would be murdered.

Ivan, along with Peter, Alexander, and so many other needy-egos, was not so great really

Ivan the Great (c.1500), through marriage and treaty, formed a political alliance with the powers-that-be in Constantinople. A sub-clause of the contract, however, required Ivan to live under the rule of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Well, who can quibble about such trifles when vast power is to be gained. And so, when Ivan returned to native Mother Russia with his new Catholic bride, he broke the news – I mean, it was such a small point, hardly worth mentioning – that everyone under his domain would now have to give up the old tribal religions and become Eastern Orthodox Catholic.

religious conversion by the sword

And those who even hinted at thinking askance at this polite suggestion, could take the matter up with that man over there with the shiny long sword, if you catch my drift - just the way Constantine did it in the 300s AD when they voted Jesus to be God. 

And this is why so many people of Russia today swear by the Eastern Orthodox Catholicism as the “one true church” with the "one true doctrines." It's become the new "family prejudice," as opposed to former family prejudices; it's really hard to keep track. But it's a belief-system born at the point of a sword.

Sensing he was on a roll, and not content with ordinary fawning and groveling at court, our hero Ivan heaped upon himself not only modest appellation as "Ivan the Great" but encouraged other distinction such as “Grand Prince of Moscow” and “Grand Prince of all Rus” plus inventing for himself the term “Tsar” or “Csar,” deriving from “Caesar” meaning “emperor.” We get it.

In this riot of self-congratulation and "look how important I am," we are reminded of the autocrats of ancient times, such as Naram-Sin of Akkad, who required his retinue to address him with epithets of, “King of the Four Quarters,” “King of the Universe,” and “Divine Son of God.”

surrounded by constant flattery of "you are better"

Once the dysfunctional ego gets hold of you like this, when you’re surrounded by constant flattery, fueled by a lust for power, all of these totalitarians begin to speak with one voice. To reference Bugs once again, “monotonous, isn’t it?”

And notice too, since ancient times, for thousands of years, there has been an unholy alliance between church and state – the sword and propaganda – to keep the serfs in line, controlled by fear and guilt.

Editor's note: Today, with democratic safeguards such as the rule of law, despots, both political and religious, are annoyingly unable to use the sword for policy implementation as they once did. But do not doubt that, in the right political climate, in a time of crisis with a break-down of law, we'd be back to the Middle Ages very quickly. The grasping dysfunctional ego never sleeps, never gives up, and, if it has to, will go into hiding, biding its time. It never gives up because the "inner neediness" never quiets. And this is why, as Adrian has pointed out, quoting the ancient Gnostics, this world is unredeemable.

The great Russian thinkers and writers, over many scores of years, reveal inexorable march toward revolution. This should not have been unexpected given the long history of oppression by a self-serving government of elites.

Lenin’s rise to power in 1917, in one sense, was a natural expression of resistance, a seeking for freedom, against the heavy-hand of generations of Czarist rule. This same dynamic, in principle, blossomed in America in 1776.

trading one abusive dictatorship for another

But there was a very big difference between these two revolutions: Lenin was a thug and a butcher, just a power-mad ultra-criminal, and had no intention of offering freedom to the man on the street. His lieutenants, those who came later, like Stalin, were even worse. At the end, Russia had traded one abusive dictatorship for another - in fact, one that was far, far worse, with many tens of millions of people exterminated in the coming years.

“useful idiots”

There’s debate as to who coined this term, but it came to be associated with Lenin’s socialistic movement.

The Soviets used the term to describe their unthinking cult-followers, those who blindly supported them no matter the atrocity committed. These are the true-believers waiting for the “messiah” of political salvation, the promised land of share-and-share-alike utopia.

What Lenin’s “useful idiots” did not perceive is that they’d be some of the first whose blood would be shed in the great purge toward the perfect society.

Today, the “useful idiots,” the cultishly-minded adherents of glorious socialism, are the hate-filled, low-information, ignorant-of-history political cult members who’ve been bamboozled but good. They’re very good at chanting their socialistic mantras, but aren’t nearly as good at clear thinking.

If their socialist darling-heroes ever did come to fullest power, in a manner signalling complete control, as Lenin enjoyed, their “useful idiot” heads would be among the first to roll.

Editor’s note: People are so naïve today, so out of touch with what absolute power in the hands of a blinded ego might do. I suggest you read, “The Unquiet Ghost,” a chronicle of what Stalin did during his blood-bath reign. It was so bad that, even the loyal ones around Stalin, even those who had done great work and had sacrificed for the Soviets, would be periodically purged. It didn’t matter if you had just done a good deed for the state, every few years, Stalin would exterminate whole levels of management, just to make sure there was no hint of disloyalty budding or hiding anywhere. We’re not used to this kind of maniacal insecurity. The “useful idiots” think they’ll be safe if they continue their chanting and cultish affirmations of loyalty. Think again. The lesson of history shows that anytime some bad guy gets unlimited power, or thinks he has it, he will be corrupted in an unlimited way.

capitalism, the worst economic system - except for all the others

On the "Economics" homepage, I stated that there is no perfect form of government or economic system in this world. But some are less evil than others.

Winston Churchill once commented, to the effect, that democracy is the worst form of government, except for every other form. And so it is with capitalism.

Capitalism runs to excess. Eventually, the smart people have most of the chips and take advantage of the little guy. We could make a list of the bad things that happen with capitalism.

It’s just that, that same list will be much longer for socialism.

the problem with socialism, in the hands of the insane ego, is that it very quickly concentrates power with an elite, or with a pompous singularity; and that's when the shooting starts

In this world, run by the “false self,” the “dysfunctional ego," given a period of time, all economic systems and governments will turn to chaos and blood in the streets. There is no “perfect system” to unfailingly save us from our dysfunctional selves.

However, we’ll last longer under capitalism. This is so because, at least in the beginning, if markets are free, wealth is decentralized, and the wheels of society turn as a result of individual choices by large numbers of people. Power is diffused, and that's always a good thing in this world.

It’s not that way in a purely socialistic society. Things are run “from the top,” by an elite who make all decisions; for “our good,” of course. But this concentration of power, to bring about a longed-for utopia, which all socialism-reformers promise, sooner rather than later, devolves to loss of individual freedoms; for “our good,” of course.

In the history of the world, no purely socialistic government has ever succeeded in bringing its people any measure of protracted peace and prosperity. It falls apart pretty quickly. Contrast this with capitalistic societies – if they are governed by a “rule of law,” with everyone equal under the law, if markets are free -- these have not failed to produce freedoms and prosperity for its people. For a while.

globalism and socialism, the trojan horses of totalitarianism

In the United States today, we find many cheerleaders of socialism. And their “useful idiot” following, it seems, runs close to 40% of the voting populace.

vote for the liar who promises the most

The cheerleaders of socialism, like the Lenins of old, promise everything: free this, free that, no debts, income for all, everything for all – utopia for the taking. If these cheerleaders ever came to power, in an unbridled way, the entire economic structure of the US, built upon individual effort and enterprise, would wither in a flash. Just as it has anywhere in the world where socialism runs the store.

This warning is generally known, I think, but the true-believers seem not to care. In most third-world countries, there’re the very rich and the very poor, with no middle class. The “useful idiots” imagine themselves as members of the ruling class; they believe that any coming chaos will not affect them, but only the plebs. Totalitarians see themselves as “better” and "above," and therefore deserving to rule over you. We have discussed this at length in the “Spirituality” articles.

the unstumbling march toward totalitarianism

Personally, as I’ve written elsewhere, I think it’s going to get pretty bad before it gets better. Professor Weil points out that there was an attempt at revolution in Russia in the 1820s. But it fizzled. However, the instigators did not lose heart, but kept on working for the overthrow of government and, mainly, bringing themselves to power. They are so diligent and take no coffee breaks.

Today the cheerleaders of socialism have never been so bold, so rabid, so unapologetic. Their lies are as thick as mosquitoes on a lake in August. There’s no shame for them now in saying outrageous things. The weaker their philosophical position, the “harder they pound the table.”

the needy ego cannot quiet down

If history is a guide, I think the socialists will finally take over and destroy America. The insane and needy ego will not quiet down, it cannot "sit quietly in a room alone," and those leading a decent life are too busy with duties and responsibilities to continually live in a fighting mode against the “barbarians at the gate.” I don’t think this fall-to-perdition will happen soon. But the numbers of “useful idiots,” perilously, are growing and growing -- and therefore, John Adams, who was no fool, will yet, likely, be proven right.