Not to imply you’re doing it intentionally, because I know your political opinions too well for that to be the case.

But it is amazing how much of popular history concerning that time period is absolute crap, most of it being written by academics and journalists politically, ideologically, and emotionally invested.

I suspect history books 30 years hence covering the hot-topic events of today will be the same.

Luckily, or unluckily, as a young person I’ll probably have the opportunity to read them.

Just don’t read Chomsky whose take on some aspects of history - social history - is fascinating. But I made the mistake of reading that piece I linked prior to writing my post which only confused me a little.

ed.

Were seen (by whomever), of course, does not mean fact. It is also misleading. Plenty of people saw the Communists as they were, at the time, and what they were doing to the Republican movement from the inside. Others also knew what they’d done to the Ukrainian and Belorussian nationalists, Georgians, Central Asians, and every other group and interim government that’d already been demolished and cleansed in the early 1920s following the reversal of Lenin’s opportunistic minority policy.

I understand the point you’re trying to make, but no need to whitewash the stupidity of the Soviet apologists - who had plenty of evidence available, but didn’t want to see, or blacklisted the sources that made it available. Much of course was spread through the efforts of emigres or otherwise “reactionary” origins, though even liberals and social democrats were labeled reactionaries for saying bad words about the intelligentsia’s previous opium.

As it was, the Republican movement as a whole was as much to blame for the Civil War as the Nationalists anyway, and hardly a prize to begin with, even before the Stalinists began purging the better elements.

Before someone beats me to it…

Hitler was NOT elected. It was months after his defeat in the presidential race by Hindenberg that he maneuvered Von Papen into getting the President to ask him to form a government as Chancellor - a government Von Papen thought he would control in the wings.

Not the last to underestimate Hitler.

ed.

Huh? Which side of the SCW supported liberal democracy?
Or are you saying that because some members of the ALB weren’t commies that the ALB was on the right side?

> Fighting Franco was almost certainly the right thing to do.

I’m no fan of Franco but I’m not convinced that having Stalin (or a Stalinist puppet) running Spain would have been the “the correct moral choice”.

I agree with all your points. At the time, however, it was a little murkier and you may recall that the commies were seen as a better choice than the fascists back then. Plus, we didn’t know back then how the communists would take power by sweeping aside all opposition and ruthlessly crack down. That didn’t become clear until after the war when it was repeated several times in eastern Europe.

ed.

Very informative but what the hell does that have to do with the post? In the future, any non germane comments will be deleted.

ed,

Therein lies the irony and why I want to puke when I hear the left equivocate with their pansy ass sensitivities.

Devoid of these so-called palestinians agitating from within and a stones throw away there would have been peace in the area 10 years ago.

The left has nothing against violence, killing or even genocide - so long as the people who are killed are th ones they want deae. To them “we” - Americans and Israelis - are the right people. Why else do they spend so much time objectifying us and projecting their violence fantasies on us? Most leftists are destructive authoritarians with a true hatred of individual freedom and a not-so-closet love for murderous dictators.

I guess I’d better burn my ACLU card, and get rid of my frequent-flier miles on the UN black helicopters, because I agree with you about Israel’s moral right in their current actions in Gaza.

I realize there are many liberals who are as supportive of Israel as I am (many at The New Republic). I tried not to draw too broadly but then, if I had to guess I’d say that 75% of the lefysphere agrees with Greenwald, Yglesias, Ezra Klein, and FDL and numerous pundits at mags like The Nation and American Prospect.

In this case, generalizing a reaction is perhaps more true than in others.

ed.