I recently read with rapt fascination and enjoyment no fewer than seven letters — on the same day — which critiqued my “Sovietization of America” guest column.
I learned from these observers that I am “afflicted with brain damage,” “a mad ranter,” “a fever dreamer,” “part of the Koch-fueled propaganda machine,” “a Trump stooge,” “a McCarthy dupe,” “an inciter to violence,” “a writer of parody” and much more.
I regard these letters as unserious and funnily enough, perfect examples of what I had just finished pointing out in my column regarding the primitive techniques used to “correct” political errors.
Through absolutely no fault of my own, I grew up a true believer on the left. Reading Solzhenitsyn was an awakening and led to 20 years of devouring everything I could find on Soviet history. Given this background of fluency with the tenants of the American left and fluency with the tenants of Soviet ideology, the similarities outlined in my column between the two world-views and techniques of persuasion are blindingly obvious.
By way of a revealing example, a number of years ago, I happened to view 12 hours of Soviet anti-American propaganda. To my astonishment, the harsh, rancorous and relentless critique of America promoted in these films was identical to what I had been taught to believe about America. These views were especially prevalent and pushed at a misbegotten local college I attended in the late 70s.
So, how in the world, and by what vectors, did the harsh Soviet critique of America — as well as dozens of other Soviet precepts — arrive at this misbegotten local college? Fast forward to 2019 and we see that these exact ideas have journeyed well. They are much more prevalent and regularly seen everywhere and, to me, they are blindingly obvious.
The same left, which has been having kittens for the last three years about some Russian disinformation and influence on the 2016 elections, is simultaneously in massive denial and would like to bury the history of the Soviets in America and the myriad dupes who did their bidding. I referred to KGB interviews and memoirs in my column detailing an absolutely brilliant full court press on influencing what we think. The constant and reflexive screeching about McCarthy is just a technique for quashing any curiosity about this fascinating story.
I stand behind every word of my column and look forward to completing part II. I hope that all my critics have their computers warmed up, because this one is going to be a doozy.
David Zimicki
Haydenville