President Ronald Reagan understood the deadly philosophy of Marx and Lenin quite well. He understood its inhumanity, and he fought it decisively. Our current president also understands that vile ideology, and it was quite fitting that on June 12, 2007, the twentieth anniversary of President Reagan’s “tear down this wall” speech, President George W. Bush dedicated the Victims of Communism Memorial, which acknowledges and memorializes those victims of the murderous communist philosophy.
100 Millions Victims
That the Nazis killed six million Jews is widely acknowledged, except by cranks the ilk of the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but, no doubt, far fewer are aware that the Soviet Union under Stalin killed more than 20 million people. Also less know is that China’s totalitarian leader Mao Zedong murdered approximately 60 million.
Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge murdered 2 million or more. And Fidel Castro has killed several hundred thousand during his murderous, despotic half-century reign. In all, the Communist Holocaust is responsible for at least 100 million people, exceeding the death toll of all of the wars of the 20th century.
Now those victims of this murderous philosophy are acknowledged and memorialized by the Victims of Communism Memorial. At the June 12 dedication, a thousand people gathered to help begin this project with Rep. Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, delivering the keynote address; Rep. Dana Rohrabacher also spoke.
According to the Washington Times, “The world has been reluctant to acknowledge the horrors of Communism. Now at last they will be memorialized.”
The Victims of Communism Memorial
Memorial web site explains the mission the Foundation responsible for this memorial tribute:The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, a non-profit organization, was established by an Act of Congress to build a memorial in Washington, DC to commemorate the more than 100 million victims of communism; to honor those who successfully resisted communist tyranny; to educate current and future generations about communism's crimes against humanity; and to pay tribute to those who helped win the Cold War.President Bush’s speech highlighted the purpose of the memorial:
We dedicate this memorial because we have an obligation to those who died, to acknowledge their lives and honor their memory. The Czech writer Milan Kundera once described the struggle against Communism as “the struggle of memory against forgetting.”Commentary
At times, we are faced with the words of hatred toward those who have bravely sacrificed their resources and lives to save others from this murderous ideology. Many university professors currently teach a vile philosophy that distorts history, seeking to uphold the philosophy that has repeatedly been proven to be nothing but excuse to murder. This memorial was sorely needed, and its existence is a testimony and a warning that the despicable disease of communism should be rooted out from the earth.
President Bush’s Dedication of Victims of Communism Memorial
