Living The Worthy Life- America 's Greatest Danger

In his pamphlet, Tactics of Communism, Bishop Sheen wrote:

Q. Which then is the greater danger for America? 

A. Communism. It must be borne in mind that the political problem of the world is not a choice between Communism and Fascism. There are other kinds of government besides the Fascist, for ex- ample,our own American form. Rather the struggle is between Communism and anti~Communism whatever forms the latter may assume.

Why is Communism such a problem and why should we be worried now did we not win the cold war?

Q. How long will the Communists be able to be successful in the US with these new tactics?

A. As long as Americans are gullible to believe them

Gullible- this is the best way to describe the American voting public of today. Are we ready for what is about to come?  

Julius Caesar once said, “ People readily believe what they want to believe.” Maybe this is the problem or maybe it what politicians count on when they speak to us.  Knowing that we do, is this possibly why they always appear to be telling us what we want to hear, not necessarily what we need to hear?  Think about it this for a moment. Doesn’t this explain a great deal about our country? Doesn’t this explain why things rarely change for the better?

Speaking about change, when of the greatest changes has taken place with Communism.  WIth the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the eventual break-up of the USSR in 1991, the Cold War appeared over.  Many of us who were born under the threat of Communism and did duck and cover drills daily on our campuses in the 1960’s took a collective sigh of relief. We knew at that time Communism was dead and we had won.  Time to celebrate- the Cold War was over or was it? 

Communism of the early 20th century was a revolutionary outpour from the USSR.  It was based on foriegn development and was more or less not a popular position to have in either major political party.  There were inroads for sure in the Democratic Party but compared to today it was very nominal. While we were still in the throws of the Cold War neither party embraced the tenents of Communism and both parties remained very strong on defense against it. 

Today the story is much different. Today we see mainstream presidential candidates of the Democratic Party advocating positions that heretofore had been associated with Communist beliefs- free medical care, free college, and the Green New Deal.

Much of the New Green New Deal was based on the 2012 Green Party Platform 

That  national Green Party platform called for the following:

• Enact an emergency Green New Deal to turn the tide on climate change, revive the economy and make wars for oil obsolete. Initiate a WWII-scale national mobilization to halt climate change, the greatest threat to humanity in our history. Create 20 million jobs by transitioning to 100% clean renewable energy by 2030, and investing in public transit, sustainable (regenerative) agriculture, conservation and restoration of critical infrastructure, including ecosystems.

• Implement a Just Transition that empowers those communities and workers most impacted by climate change and the transition to a green economy. Ensure that any worker displaced by the shift away from fossil fuels will receive full income and benefits as they transition to alternative work.

• Enact energy democracy based on public, community and worker ownership of our energy system. Treat energy as a human right.

• Redirect research funds from fossil fuels into renewable energy and conservation. Build a nationwide smart electricity grid that can pool and store power from a diversity of renewable sources, giving the nation clean, democratically-controlled, energy.

• End destructive energy extraction and associated infrastructure: fracking, tar sands, offshore drilling, oil trains, mountaintop removal, natural gas pipelines, and uranium mines. Halt any investment in fossil fuel infrastructure, including natural gas, and phase out all fossil fuel power plants. Phase out nuclear power and end nuclear subsidies. End all subsidies for fossil fuels and impose a greenhouse gas fee/tax to charge polluters for the damage they have created.”

The Green New Deal is modeled in part after Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, which was a large federal program designed to stabilize the economy and recover from the Great Depression. The Green New Deal focuses on tackling climate change, but isn’t concerned  with just reducing emissions.

There are five goals, which the resolution says should be accomplished in a 10-year mobilization effort:

• Achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers
• Create millions of good, high-wage jobs and ensure prosperity and economic security for all people of the United States
• Invest in the infrastructure and industry of the United States to sustainably meet the challenges of the 21st century
• Secure for all people of the United States for generations to come: clean air and water; climate and community resiliency; healthy food; access to nature; and a sustainable environment
• Promote justice and equity by stopping current, preventing future, and repairing historic oppression of indigenous peoples, communities of color, migrant communities, deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, and youth (“frontline and vulnerable communities”)

Now many of you are interested in saving the planet and ask,”What is so wrong with this?”

The answer will surprise you , there is nothing wrong with trying to save our environment.  The problem is not in trying to save the environment it is in how we do it. Government is not the answer it is simply the problem.  We can not nor we should not replace God with the government.  

Look carefully at the main principles of Communism.  Many people get excited about this theory because of social justice, they appear to address inequalities and promise to make things better on earth for all.  However, look what they provide instead of looking at what they promise. They do not increase prosperity to all people- they take from a few and give small amounts to many.  People are not really better off- the average person is not better off and formerly well off are sure not better off. Overall, Communism fails to accomplish its promises 100% of the time.  Equality of poverty is equal but is it what you want?  

According to Marx, religion is one of those social institutions which are dependent upon the material and economic realities in a given society. In fact, religion can not exist in Communism. Think about that statement and look at what Marx said about religion, “"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”  

Comparing religion to a drug- Marx wants to eliminate it from the face of the earth. Therefore, as you listen to the candidates that are running for different public offices, remember you are their boss.  You tell them what to do not the other way around. Listen to what they have to say. Many of us want change but change at what cost? Do we want to lose our ability to go to Church, to worship our God, to raise our children in the faith, or to simply choose to contribute to our Parish?

Remember Marx was the father of Communism.  He gave birth to a system of government that wants to control every aspect of your life.  He gave birth to a system that would eliminate God and replace it with the government. Is this what you want?  Is it? If it is ask yourself what have you gained here and in the hereafter?  

Remember the words of Bishop Sheen about the impact of Communism here in the United States.   “As long as Americans are not gullible to believe them,” Communism would not be successful here.  Stay strong and listen carefully. The future of our Church and Country rest in this.