Popular history needs to be set straight about the evil of one man who is sometimes represented as a hero. Were they coupled with nationalist rather than communist rhetoric, one would think that Hitler had said these things, but it was not Hitler, nor was it Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot nor anyone who is generally recognized as one of history's worst villains. These are statements from the speeches of someone with whom all of you are no doubt very familiar, however, even if his reputation has been dishonestly cleansed:

"Merciless war against these (a term for wealthy peasants)! Death to them."

"We'll ask the man, where do you stand on the question of the (a communism-related word)? Are you for it or against it? If he's against it, we'll stand him up against a wall."

This isn't a Left vs. Right thread. It is a thread to show how horribly illiberal a certain man was despite seldom being compared, as he should be, to the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and Mao. I appreciate all replies and guesses. Thank you very much.

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"Some people complain about the system. The system is not good, so they can't do anything. It's an excuse. Freedom is in your heart." (Jin Xing)

I think it's either Truman, Churchill or De Gaulle but i doubt the last guess.

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"True Power comes down the barrel of a gun"
- Mao Tse Sung

No, it was a communist. In fact, it was the first communist dictator, Vladimir Lenin. My point in starting this thread was to destroy the myth that Lenin was a merciful man whose ideas and government were distorted by Stalin. In fact, he was nearly as vicious as Stalin and, like Stalin, is responsible for millions of deaths. He established what became the Gulags and not only advocated the extermination of political opponents but also starved peasants in 1921 to punish them for not cooperating with his collectivization plans, something that even Leon Trotsky, who supported killing political dissidents, opposed. In all, I would estimate that Lenin killed 5.5 million people in just 7 years. My point is essentially to show that the ideology predominant in Communist nations today is not "Marxism-Leninism" but rather "Leninism-Stalinism", as I am inclined to regard Marx as an impractical idealist.

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"Some people complain about the system. The system is not good, so they can't do anything. It's an excuse. Freedom is in your heart." (Jin Xing)

So what side of the poltical spectrum do you place yourself on?

Yeah, Lenin created Soviet Communism and Stalin pushed it forward but let's remember that at the end of the day the US beat the whole system in the Cold War!!!

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"True Power comes down the barrel of a gun"
- Mao Tse Sung

I'm anti-communist but overall center by American standards.

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"Some people complain about the system. The system is not good, so they can't do anything. It's an excuse. Freedom is in your heart." (Jin Xing)

Centrist in American politics?

That's not really saying much, lol.

Anti-Communist well that's fair enough but who are you thinking of voting for in 2008?

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"True Power comes down the barrel of a gun"
- Mao Tse Sung

Ron Paul is my first choice, followed by Chuck Hagel. If the GOP nominates neither, I'll vote for the Libertarian Party's candidate.

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"Some people complain about the system. The system is not good, so they can't do anything. It's an excuse. Freedom is in your heart." (Jin Xing)