Reading the article “What Socialism Meant for My Great-Grandfather” in the Wall Street Journal piqued my interest in the life of its Chinese author. I was fascinated learning about a four-generation family in China from the days of the communist revolution in late 1940s right through recent years.
The Chinese Communists were hell bent on establishing maximum socialism which they did with catastrophic results. The stories of starvation, forced labor camps and indoctrination education are simply terrifying those of who grew up in a western democracy. It hard to grasp the death and destruction incurred during the Great Chinese Famine (1958-1960) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). It is pretty clear – the bigger the government the less freedom for its citizens.
Helen Raleigh, the author, grew up in China and immigrated to the United States as a young adult. She sought freedom and the American Dream, and found both. This book is about freedom—and about what happens when we let people take our freedom away.
When someone tells you that socialism is good make them read “Confucius Never Said.”
I guarantee a mind change!
