Introduction
November 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. This event changed the world and understanding how it came about is is more relevant than ever, not just because of the rising influence of international communist extremist groups, but because of the uncompromising spirit of mainstream politics in America. In his bookLenin, Stalin, and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe, Robert Gellately, of Florida State University, dismantles the myth of Vladimir Lenin as a relatively benevolent precursor to Hitler and Stalin. He highlights how Lenin’s embrace of chaos and division, and his unwillingness to compromise, led to a violent revolution of Biblical proportions. (1) 1.5 million people were killed by Lenin and at least another 3 million by his successor Josef Stalin! In this article I will show how “fake news” ushered in Lenin’s Bolshevik Revolution and how this epidemic is the greatest threat to our American republic.
Why is this Important? The Rise of Leninism in America
Vladimir Lenin’s 1902 pamphlet What Is T o Be Done? Burning Questions of Our Movement is popularly seen as the founding text of democratic centralism and outlined the expectations he had of his Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks). Theseexpectations were formalized during the Sixth Party Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks) held at Petrograd between July 26 and August 3, 1917. Democratic centralism was defined as strict party discipline, the subordination of the minority to the majority, and that all decisions of higher bodies were to be binding on lower bodies and on all party members. (2)According to Ian Frazier of the Smithsonian Magazine, Lenin favored party loyalty, held power closely, and never compromised with rivals. We are seeing the effects of Leninism in America today in politics and philosophy as more and more of our country is being polarized along party lines. (3) The political spectrum of America is being pulled apart like a piece of salt water taffy that eventually breaks in the middle; thereby, eliminating centrists and independents. We are seeing an uncompromising spirit build within both the conservative and liberal sides of the aisle. The creation of chaos and division was a strategic tactic of Lenin. When World War I broke out in 1914, every political faction in Russia supported the war effort except for Lenin’s Bolsheviks, correctly predicted defeat would bring about the downfall the Romanov royal family. (4)
How Fake News Destroyed Russia
Fake news reports destroyed Russia in the early 20th Century by creating false narratives about members of the Romanov royal family. As referenced in the October 2017 Smithsonian Magazine, Boris Kolonitsky of the European University at St. Petersburg says “Rumor and street culture – jokes, postcards, sayings, bawdy plays performed in saloons -changed the images of the czar and czarina, desacralized them, before and after the war. Empress Alexandra’s dependence of Rasputin, the so-called crazed monk, had catastrophic consequences. Tales of the czarina’s debauchery with Rasputin (completely untrue), and rumors of the czar’s impotence, and her supposed sabotage of the war effort because she was born in Germany, all undermined the Romanovs, until finally nobody could be too sad when the monarchy went away. People sent each other erotic postcards of the czarina with Rasputin, audiences howled laughing at plays about his supposed sexual power. It resembled modern defamation by social media and it did great damage.” (5)
According to ConsumerProtection.org “Two different Pew Research Center studies conducted in 2016 reveal that a majority of Americans (62%) now say they get news via social media, and about a quarter(23%) say they have shared fake news stories, either knowingly or unknowingly.”(6) This is a scary statistic, but its exactly what people like President Vladimir Putin of Russia want for America. Communist Russia was and continues to be the biggest proponent of revolution via fake news.
“In addition to making it easy to spread unverified stories with just the click of the “share” or “retweet” button, social media allows users to filter out those who don’t have the same worldview as they do. What makes it through to the user’s “feed” is more likely to be trusted without scrutiny and shared without vetting simply because it comes from a ‘friend.’” (7) We must learn to do our own homework and not take reports at face value.
How the Safe Space Cult F eeds Fake N ews and Divides America
Similar to the street culture before the Bolshevik Revolution, Leninist methodologies are being utilized within the American entertainment industry: i.e. Saturday Night Live, late night talk shows, ESPN, and comedy clubs. I am not saying that the people associated with these outlets are communist, but rather they are mirroring Lenin’s intolerance of his rivals. Within their safe space of the local comedy club for instance, Leninists feed off of each other’s energy, emboldening themselves to become more and more offensive in their commentaries. Thereby, becoming more radicalized and uncompromising, to the point where even children of political figures are not off limits. This sounds eerily similar to what happened to the Romanov children, who, with the rest of their family, were executed by the Bolsheviks. Their bodies were then mutilated, burned and disposed of in a field near Yekaterinburg, Russia. (8 and 9)
The energy that feeds the comedy clubs of America is the same energy that feeds the American main stream media. Through safe spaces, a mind control scenario thrives and everyone learns to think the same way. Out of fear of being called a bigot nobody in the mainstream media dares to question what they hear, but rather they take what is reported as gospel. Fake news then drives an ever growing victim narrative that divides us so much that we can’t even enjoy American pastimes like Monday night football. NFL players, like Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks, capitalize on this victim narrative by making false statements about local police departments. Fake news will destroy us the same way it destroyed Russia, by delegitimizing our government and law enforcement officials.
What does the Bible say About Fake News and What Can We Do Individuay to Stop it?
In Matthew 19:18 Jesus replied to the rich man’s question on how to gain eternal life: “If you want to enter life, keep the commandments… do not bear false witness against thy neighbor”. I will admit it is hard for me to not jump the gun and repost a news article to social media before checking the facts on that news article. I have been guilty of this in the past. Sometimes my displeasure for people who do not share my values, causes me to be anxious and overly aggressive in delegitimizing them as governmental or religious authorities. However, as I learn more from history on how the false witness of fake news has led to the murder of millions of innocent people I am more careful about discussing conspiracy theories until the facts have been clearly established and proven.
We may be able to change our own hearts so that we do not bear false witness, but what do we do when our own leaders spread fake news? How should we respond and how do we maintain an uncompromised faith in a compromised world without embracing Leninism ourselves? According to GotQuestions.org “when Jesus said, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,’ He was drawing a sharp distinction between two kingdoms. There is a kingdom of this world, and Caesar holds power over it. But there is another kingdom, not of this world, and Jesus is King of that (John 18:36). Christians are part of both kingdoms, at least temporarily. Under Caesar, we have certain obligations that involve material things. Under Christ, we have other obligations that involve things eternal. If Caesar demands money, give it to him. But make sure you also give God what He demands.”
One of the many things God demands of us is to pray for our leaders no matter what.
“I exhort therefore, that, first of a, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for amen; For kings, and for athat are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in agodliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:1-2, KJV).
Don’t forget that the Apostle Paul is writing this instruction to his protégé Timothy at a time when the vile emperor Nero was at the helm of the vast Roman Empire. Christians were viciously persecuted, clothed in wild animal skins and put in the arena before hungry lions, even covered red in pitch and used as human lanterns to light the streets of Rome. (10)
Conclusion
Those in America who are living with a victim mentality perpetuated by fake news need to consider the possible ramifications of this mentality. Lenin capitalized on the hatred of the peasants towards the bourgeoisie and utilized the power given to him to kill 1.5 million people. Josef Stalin continued on to kill another 3 million people minimum. As a country we can no longer afford a version of truth preached to us via safe spaces. We need to stop the mind-control of the media and the entertainment industry and start thinking for ourselves otherwise we will end up like the Romanov’s. Christ Jesus commands us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. (Mark 12: 30-31) We can love the Lord our God with all of our mind by staying well educated and informed so that we can counter false narratives designed to divide God’s children.
Notes
- Gellately, Robert, Lenin, S talin, and H itler, 2007 , Vintage Books Publishing
- Stalin, Joseph, H istory of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks). Short Course. Prism KeyPress, 2013, p. 264
- Frazier, Ian, What Ever H appened to the Russian R evolution?, pg. 80, Smithsonian Magazine, October 2017
- Greenspan, Jesse, 9 T hings You M ay N ot K now About V ladimir L enin, 21 January 2014, The History Channel Online, http://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-vladimir-lenin
- Frazier, Ian, What Ever H appened to the Russian R evolution?, pg. 64, Smithsonian Magazine, October 2017
- Fake N ews: R ecognizing and S temming Misinformation. pg. 2, Consumer Action, 13 September 2017, https://www.consumer-action.org/english/articles/fake_news? gclid=EAIaIQobChMIq8f9nqim1wIViiSGCh2ucwE3EAMYAiAAEgLgX_D_BwE
- Ibid, 2
- Honan, William H., A Playwright Applies H is CraTo Czar Nicholas II’s Last Days, 12 August 1992, NewYork Times, retrieved 5 November 2017
- Levy, Clifford J , S leuths say they’ve found the last Romanovs, 25 November 2007, The New York Times, retrieved 5 November 2017
- Graham, Franklin, Praying for Those in Authority is a Biblical Command, 30 September 2014, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, https://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/october-2014/praying-for-our-leaders/
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