This administration is becoming more soviet with each passing day and the more aware people are of the links between the two systems the better. This is a tale out of my childhood that I find paints, frighteningly, an increasingly accurate picture of the government today. Here's one step towards creating and strengthening the meme that "the Republicans want to create soviet-style democracy."
Yes, Conservatives, you aren't the only ones who can use the fear of the spectre of Communism.
[Update:] I had no idea that at least three other people spontaneously came up with the meme too...I've added two tags, "Soviet America" and "No KGB in America" to my diary in an attempt to start to organize this meme on DKos. Hopefully, stories like MSOC's reporting on pajiba.com and things like this one out my childhood will help that out.
Stories from the past hour that have furthered this meme:
Department of Homeland Security = K G B
If you think Bush is Guilty of War Crimes, you are Delusional.
Let's Start A New Meme: No KGB in America!
When I was a young child my family travelled regularly across the iron curtain. This was not really all that strange when you think about it -- my father was an academic and taught slavic languages. We would regularly accompany him on study abroad trips throughout Eastern Europe. However, because of this we were constantly watched both by the US and the USSR. The KGB particularly was notorious.
We spent some time in Leningrad, at the hotel Rossia, and in the 80s customer service was not high on their priority list. After hours spent getting people settled, our family made it into our hotel room. We had no towels. This was a real inconvenience having just taken an overnight train from Helsinki and one of those "breaking the camel's back" moments that makes you want to turn around and go home.
Before my father could get very upset and meander back to the front desk to place a request for some my mother stopped him and said there was no need. She stood in the middle of the room and said in a loud and clear voice, "Man, what a disappointment, we have no towels. It sure would be nice to have some towels." Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door -- a maid handed us a stack of warm towels.
This family lore was repeated back to us the next time we were in (now) St. Petersburg a few years later by our tour guide as we sat swapping stories. We had become infamous as an absurd example of the rampant paranoid monitoring that was prevalent in Russia at the time.
...o0o...
I am constantly reminded of this today. Dad now lives in Europe and each week we talk for hours on my Cingular (read:AT&T/Bellsouth) wireless phone. Each conversation I make sure to say hello to whomever is listening in. Afterall, I'm using a cell phone, calling Europe (or worse, Europe's calling me), and we regularly talk politics. I'm just waiting for that towel moment today. Growing up we laughed at the absurdity of soviet paranoia...now we have to deal with it in our own country.
Part of what led the Soviet collapse wasn't Reagan demanding, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" It was the populace and their increasing willingness to recognize the emperor's lack of clothes. Statements like the one in this CNN story where Bush makes the farcical comment that our government is "not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans" are the kind of comments that bring down the administration. Mr. Bush, please, we know what you are doing. The more you insult our intelligence the worse it will be for you and your party come November. See, we may have an increasingly soviet media, increasingly soviet policies, and increasingly soviet propaganda, but the one difference remaining between the USSR and the US is the presence of a viable and strong 2nd party. Here's hoping they don't blow it.