This past week, we’ve seen the mainstream networks idolize Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama identify with him (an interesting study of the absurdity of this here) , and conservatives point out his communist and anti-American sentiments while the dominant media generally kept this aspect of his life hidden. But then, Huffington posted this on their Facebook page:
“Mandela was closely aligned with Marxists around the globe until his death” was the lead-in to the article “Here Are 6 Moments From Mandela’s Marxist Past That You Won’t Hear On CNN”
How astonishing! HuffPo, admitting that their hero was a Marxist? How was this even possible! And even from the title, they set themselves apart from “competitor” CNN with their seeming even-handedness.
The first paragraph sets the stage:
Nelson Mandela is one of the greatest political heroes of the last century — a man who earned the highest accolades from those at every point on the American ideological spectrum, and who punctuated his political life by working for pragmatic racial political reconciliation. But he also spent much of his life as a radical Marxist allied with global communist luminaries, leading a political party that eventually embraced the violent overthrow of the apartheid government in South Africa.
In fact, however, they don’t see his connection with Marxism as a flaw requiring forgiveness, or an indictment of any kind. On the contrary – what Huff has done is use the hero-status of this Marxist as a means for making Marxism cool, of fomenting an acceptance of its tenets in conjunction with this “great political hero” who is, of course, practically the same person as President Obama.
Huffington, in a stroke of genius, is packaging the horrors of Marxism in a ready-made tinsel wrapper of idolatry and hero-worship, tied to the policies that Obama has been working on foisting on us. Many of us have known that his agenda is Marxist; this article by Zach Carter and Shadee Ashtari of Huffington could not make the point more clearly.
What are these main Marxist elements that Huff celebrates?
1) Poverty is a social evil: “Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life. While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.” Right – this is Marxism?
2) Support for Marxist revolutionary and former Cuban president Fidel Castro during the Cuban Revolution of the 1950s : “It is a case of freedom or death. The Cuban revolution has been a source of inspiration to all freedom-loving people.” Viva la revolución, aligning Castro with our founding fathers.
3) Mandela’s efforts to equalize wealth distribution by nationalizing South African industries – what has been Obama’s pet issue? wealth inequality. Who can forget this Marxist comment: “I mean, I do think at a certain point you‘ve made enough money.” Is Obama nationalizing industries? Remember the power-grab of the car industry? He’s taking various other means, but the goal is the same. And the “evils”of wealth inequality is what draws many to Marxism – “but, but, it’s no FAIR” for some to have more than others, and the way to “solve” this is… redistribution. Gotta make it fair.
4) His ardent support for labor unions – when he visited the Ford Motor Co. auto plant in Dearborn, Mich., he expressed his affinity with union workers in 1990: “Sisters and brothers, friends and comrades, the man who is speaking is not a stranger here. The man who is speaking is a member of the UAW. I am your flesh and blood.” How risque of Huff, to consider supporting labor unions an indication of Marxism! Does that mean Obama’s support of unions – Democrats’ alignment of them generally – is Marxist? hmmm…
5) Associating the Communist party with race-equality policies: “What unites us today is the struggle against racial oppression, and we are not prepared to investigate the political ideology of any particular member of the [African National Congress] as long as he or she supports the basic aim of destroying racial oppression.” Because only Marxist/Communists are against racism? That’s an interesting take.
By holding up these often benign ideals and connecting them with communism and/or Marxism, HuffPo has neatly managed to elevate Marxism into something acceptable, perhaps even desirable. This article isn’t an indictment of of Mandela at all but a means for justifying Marxist ideology on the coattails of their hero and thus, of course, helping to make more acceptable all that Obama is working to do.
And while Huff clearly sees these policies as Marxist – support for labor-unions, embracing race equality, fighting poverty etc – when associated with Mandela, would they write such an article about Barack Obama’s Marxism? The sleight of hand here is bizarre and unnerving. Is it deliberate? One must assume, yes.
The corollary to all this, too, is that those who are against these ideals – that is, conservatives – are evil, greedy, anti-heroic and just plain wrong.
HuffPo. Making Marxism Cool.