Emma Goldman Quotes
Witness the tragic condition of Russia. The methods of State centralization have paralyzed individual initiative and effort; the tyranny of the dictatorship has cowed the people into slavish submission and all but extinguished the fires of liberty; organized terrorism has depraved and brutalized the masses and stifled every idealistic aspiration; institutionalized murder has cheapened human life, and all sense of the dignity of man and the value of life has been eliminated; coercion at every step has made effort bitter, labor a punishment, has turned the whole of existence into a scheme of mutual deceit, and has revived the lowest and most brutal instincts of man.
This quotation was extremely damaging to Russian Communism at the time. Goldman had been extremely supportive of the initial Russian Revolution and was an enthusiastic Marxist. She was not the typical conservative who would attack the revolution no matter what the outcome.
Emma Goldman, 1869-1940, Writer and Reformer, My Disillusionment with Russia, 1923
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Belafonte was on stage with Hugo Chavez, the autocratic president of Venezuela and a patent demagogue who constantly attacked Bush and the American government. Other than an entertainer who knows little about politics making an over the top attack on the president this quotation is ironic because he was at the time on the stage with and supporting one of the two most autocratic dictators of the Western Hemisphere—Hugo Chavez. In that context, the accusation was as absurd as it can get.
This was Churchill’s first Radio Address as Prime Minister.
The “Dear Leader” was the name the North Koreans used for ruler Kim Jong-il, 1941-2011.
Prevented by the Military from ever taking office. She was commenting on recent attacks against minority Muslims by the majority Buddhists and one of the major reasons she claimed was the lack of trust in the Muslim community that had developed during the period of military dictatorship.
Historically, most dictators have announced their worst intentions and in many cases were not believed by much of the world who then learned that they had made a serious error.
The dictator that he thought Russia needed, Stalin, turned on him in 1937 for not agreeing with Stalin enthusiastically enough, had a 1 day trial for treason, and executed the best military man in the country despite the fact that Russia would need its military to fight the German invasion.
He served a 20 year sentence. Unlike many of the other Nazis, upon reflection of his experience, he came to realize the wisdom of Lord Acton’s observation about power. See {292904}.
Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing, and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the 20th century.
