Communism

What?  What kind of title is that for a BLOG about growing up in a small town in South Jersey?

I shall tell you.

The first time I was introduced to communism was in second grade.  At my class at Downing School we were taught to get under our desks if we saw a bright light outside that was not attached to a thunder storm.  And we practiced diving under our desks.  We did this periodically throughout the year. 

Why?  Well, the Russians had "the bomb" and might use it on us and we had to be prepared.  The communists were out to get us and they were our enemies.

We were taught that the communists' children were in school at age two and that when a communist met a non-communist and they were having a discussion of any kind the communist would talk over the non-communist and but-in constantly so as to throw their opponent off their train of thought. 

We were taught that our homes would belong to the "state", meaning the communist government. 

Then in 7th grade we read 1984 -- which was quite the scarey novel for a pre-teen. 

So when I was watching the recent debates I was thinking, wow, the debaters sure to interrupt each other an awful lot, some more than others, and I was reminded of the days when we were reminded of what to look for in a communist state.  Dodn't get into a snit, folks.  I'm not accusing either candidate of being communist.  I'm just saying what I was taught in school.

Other things our teachers told us about communist Russia was that food supplies were low and what was available was very expensive.  The very expensive part I can relate to.  The land and farms were owned my the government, and even though the government now owned the farms, at least the people who had owned them previously were permitted to farm their own land for very low wages.

We were told that prices on most commodities (gasoline, heating oil, etc.) were very high even though Russia had plenty of resources right in their own country and they were selling the things their own people needed to other countries, thus pushing the prices higher.

The communist government took over whole companies including the auto companies, the trains, the banks, etc.

There were other things we were to look out for, but I can't remember them, maybe because they
haven't come up yet in our own nation.

How is this country leaning?  Yes, it is the best and most wonderful country in the world, and I don't want to live anywhere else.  But I see things I don't like that are happening in our country.  Things I learned about as a child and hoped then would not ever happen here in our country.

Maybe these things I mentioned in this particular BLOG don't seem real to some of you, but think about  these examples and be aware of what is going on around you.

ttfn



PS:  I imagine I'll get quite a few comments on this BLOG.