The Idiocy of the Cult of Che
Ernesto "Che" Guevara is a popular icon these days. Even though he has be dead for about four decades he has inspired a market of goods, is praised as a revolutionary and is used as an inspiration by leftists around the world. He is upheld as a symbol of rebellion and non-conformity by those that buy his shirts and hang his posters. He is thought of as a freedom fighter who championed the poor and his image symbolizes a rejection of bourgeoisie capitalism.
Unsurprisingly, most of those that praise or revere Che know little or nothing about his life. Ask those that sport his image who exactly he was and you probably won't get much of an answer. Some more informed individuals might say that he is a symbol of rebellion against the greedy capitalism of today's world. Others might just insist that he fought "for the people."
But when it came to the basics of helping "the people," such as not killing them, he was less than stellar. Che was not a harmless revolutionary as many today think of him. He was a devoted Marxist who insisted on worldwide change and he let nothing stand in his way, especially those that disagreed with him. He was a mass murderer who signed the death warrants of 600 people and executed his political opponents, and their children, using firing squads.
Che despised the United States. While alive he said "Let us sum up our hopes for victory: total destruction of imperialism by eliminating its firmest bulwark, the oppression exercised by the United States of America." I encourage anyone to read his speeches to get a sense as to the kind of world he wanted to create and ask yourself if that world would be better than what we have now.
Che was a central figure in the 1961 Cuban revolution that brought dictator-for-life Fidel Castro to power. That revolution was so popular that 20% of the Cuban population fled the island. Che was an important ally of Castro and the real world effects of Che's Marxist worldview can be seen most directly by looking at the plight of the Cuban people today. Cuba has a totalitarian government, a state-directed command economy, a captive labor force, and few exports. The government consistently restricts basic human rights and regularly arrests and tortures political opponents. Little independent data on the economy is available, but the best jobs in Cuba are government jobs and those pay average only $15 to $20 per month.
Forget the hypocrisy of people with a leftist ideology profiting from selling Che paraphernalia for profit. What is troubling is the reverence many in our society give to Che. Killing your political enemies in order to advance your ideology has never been accepted in a civilized society, but yet the left, both in America and worldwide, seem to endorse, or at the very least contemplate, such actions.
An acclaimed movie was made that presented the assassination of President Bush, pundits regularly call for the death of the President, and more than once political opponents of Dick Cheney have openly wished for his weak heart to fail. Never mind that if any of these types of comments had been used by a Republican or a conservative the media would have demanded an apology, but the thought of wishing death upon your opponents (or in Che's case actually killing them) never seems to be a problem for left-leaning individuals.
The truth about Che Guevara is that he was a murderous ideologue who slaughtered innocents to advance his idea of a perfect world. A man like Che should be remembered by history in the same way as Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin. Instead, Che is revered and praised many and that is a tragedy.
Any comments or questions can be received at whyyouareaconservative@gmail.com
~ The Conservative Guy
Unsurprisingly, most of those that praise or revere Che know little or nothing about his life. Ask those that sport his image who exactly he was and you probably won't get much of an answer. Some more informed individuals might say that he is a symbol of rebellion against the greedy capitalism of today's world. Others might just insist that he fought "for the people."
But when it came to the basics of helping "the people," such as not killing them, he was less than stellar. Che was not a harmless revolutionary as many today think of him. He was a devoted Marxist who insisted on worldwide change and he let nothing stand in his way, especially those that disagreed with him. He was a mass murderer who signed the death warrants of 600 people and executed his political opponents, and their children, using firing squads.
Che despised the United States. While alive he said "Let us sum up our hopes for victory: total destruction of imperialism by eliminating its firmest bulwark, the oppression exercised by the United States of America." I encourage anyone to read his speeches to get a sense as to the kind of world he wanted to create and ask yourself if that world would be better than what we have now.
Che was a central figure in the 1961 Cuban revolution that brought dictator-for-life Fidel Castro to power. That revolution was so popular that 20% of the Cuban population fled the island. Che was an important ally of Castro and the real world effects of Che's Marxist worldview can be seen most directly by looking at the plight of the Cuban people today. Cuba has a totalitarian government, a state-directed command economy, a captive labor force, and few exports. The government consistently restricts basic human rights and regularly arrests and tortures political opponents. Little independent data on the economy is available, but the best jobs in Cuba are government jobs and those pay average only $15 to $20 per month.
Forget the hypocrisy of people with a leftist ideology profiting from selling Che paraphernalia for profit. What is troubling is the reverence many in our society give to Che. Killing your political enemies in order to advance your ideology has never been accepted in a civilized society, but yet the left, both in America and worldwide, seem to endorse, or at the very least contemplate, such actions.
An acclaimed movie was made that presented the assassination of President Bush, pundits regularly call for the death of the President, and more than once political opponents of Dick Cheney have openly wished for his weak heart to fail. Never mind that if any of these types of comments had been used by a Republican or a conservative the media would have demanded an apology, but the thought of wishing death upon your opponents (or in Che's case actually killing them) never seems to be a problem for left-leaning individuals.
The truth about Che Guevara is that he was a murderous ideologue who slaughtered innocents to advance his idea of a perfect world. A man like Che should be remembered by history in the same way as Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin. Instead, Che is revered and praised many and that is a tragedy.
Any comments or questions can be received at whyyouareaconservative@gmail.com
~ The Conservative Guy
posted by The Conservative Guy at
12:27 PM
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