Jay Nordlinger received a letter which he published today:
Mr. Nordlinger,
A couple of years ago I returned from a 27-month tour in Ukraine with the Peace Corps. One of the goals of the Peace Corps is to have volunteers live at the same level as the locals. That gave me the opportunity to experience personally the lingering effects of Communism.
Fifteen years on and the middle class live in conditions that American poor would turn up their nose at. Communism not only scarred those who lived through it, but they pass their distorted view of life to new generations. A man from Holland – there to train workers of a shipyard his company purchased – told me that he wished he could fire everybody over 30. The older workers cannot be retrained and have a negative effect on the work ethic of younger employees.
Since my return I will not even engage in an argument with people over whether Communism is good or bad. Their belief in its viability instantly informs me of their ignorance and I refuse to debate them. I guess that sounds arrogant, but would I be arrogant if I refused to debate our need for oxygen? Some of us know some irrefutable facts that others will never comprehend.