The New York
Times has published an article
on Venezuela entitled “Dying Infants and No Medicine: Inside Venezuela’s
Failing Hospitals.” It reads like
an apocalyptic horror story and begins, “By morning, three newborns were
already dead.” The author provides
an explanation for this tragedy: “This nation has the largest oil reserves in
the world, yet the government saved little money for hard times when oil prices
were high. Now that prices have collapsed — they are around a third what they
were in 2014 — the consequences are casting a destructive shadow across the
country.” No other explanation is
offered. Perhaps we will be
receiving report of massive starvation in Saudi Arabia soon.
This article is
a far cry from the glowing reports that greeted the assumption of power by Hugo
Chavez. When Chavez was elected
Venezuela’s people were the wealthiest in Latin America. Celebrities flocked to Caracas to pay
homage to the new socialist leader.
Sean Penn, Michael Moore, Danny Glover, and Harry Belafonte are just a
few of the entertainers who have visited.
Oliver Stone has made a film, Mi
Amigo Hugo, about the Venezuelan leader. Now Venezuela appears to be suffering a food shortage. A survey
by three universities found 75 percent of Venezuelans lost an average 19 pounds
this year.
Have the
Venezuelan revolution’s early supporters admitted they were wrong? Are they at all embarrassed? According to John
Stossel they believe they were right to praise Venezuela’s move to
socialism. Stossel corresponded
with college professor Noam Chomsky.
Chomsky’s reply to Stossel’s question about his support for Chavez was,
“I was right." Chomsky blamed
Venezuela’s problems on capitalists: “Capitalists were free to undermine the
economy in all sorts of ways, like massive export of capital." Stossel quotes Marian Tupy, editor of
HumanProgress.org. who said, “More countries will refuse to learn from history
and give socialism 'a go.' 'Useful idiots,' to use Lenin's words ... will sing
socialism's praises until the last light goes out."
Socialism has
failed repeatedly. How can
apparently well-educated intelligent people maintain their faith in a failed
system? The answer is that in
spite of their claims of being based on science, socialism is a religion. It is the official religion taught in
many public schools in the U.S. It
is a form of Christianity without Christ.
Millions of adherents will swear a vow of poverty to further their
programs. The socialist elite,
however, is another matter. This
brings us to Maria
Gabriela Chavez, Hugo’s daughter.
According to Diario las Americas she has $4.2 billion in American and
Andorran banks. The socialist
elite does very well for itself.
They apparently see no contradiction in living well as others
starve. Communist defector Victor Kravchenko
described this phenomenon when he was a member of the Soviet elite: “I found
myself among men who could eat ample and dainty food in full view of starving
people not only with a clear conscience but with a feeling of righteousness, as
if they were performing a duty to history.”
Reuters has
published an article describing the role played by social media in the
opposition to the government.
Activists are posting details of the lifestyles of government officials
and their families. They expose
them as thriving from corruption while the “common man” is starving. One estimate suggests that $350
billion dollars have been misappropriated by Venezuelan officials. The Atlantic reported on a blog, “Relojes
del Chavismo” that lists the brands and prices of watches worn by the
Venezuelan elite. Vladimir Lopes,
the Minister of Defense sports a $11,900 Rolex while the President of a state
TV channel wears a $12,600 watch.
Still these officials may be considered frugal compared to our own
champions of the downtrodden.
Former member of the House of Representatives, Jesse
Jackson Jr., reportedly had a $43,000 Rolex.
The success of
socialism seems to depend upon having the “right people” running the
government. Are our advocates of
wealth redistribution setting a good example for their followers. Do Bernie Sanders, Mark Zuckerberg, and the
hundreds of entertainers and academic who advocate for socialism, wear hair
shirts. Or do they live lives of
incredible opulence maintaining several residences that remain vacant in their
absence?
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