Chris Doss wrote:
> Thought people might be interested in this. The writer, or so he claims, is
> a former Lithanian anti-Communist dissident (hence my subject heading) now
> living in the U.S. and not very happy about it, judging by his work.
>
> This is only about 10% of the full document.
>
> by Valdas Anelauskas
>
> The Land of Misery and Plutocracy
>
> "America is a mistake, a giant mistake!"
> - Sigmund Freud
>
> A foreigner who visits the United States fails to be asked by at least one
> American: "So, how do you like America?" And, as a rule, they always ask in
> such a tone that only an affirmative answer is considered possible.
> Personally, I have heard this question at least a hundred times. At first, I
> tried to be polite. My answers usually were quite diplomatic, such as,
> "Well, it is interesting here, and different from my country," or something
> of that sort. But today perhaps the most diplomatic answer I could give
> would be: "To put it mildly, I do not like it at all."
>
> Much water has flowed under many bridges since that day when I first stepped
> on this continent. My world outlook has changed a good deal and now I
> understand a lot of such things that I wasn't able to comprehend earlier.
> Today, reflecting on the time when we
> first arrived here, I realize how naive I was. Or perhaps ignorant. I really
> believed that the United States of America was a democratic and free
> country. Moreover, I imagined it to be a highly advanced and progressive
> nation, maybe even the most civilized country on
> earth in history. How foolish of me!
>
> Just before starting to write this I flipped through the pages of
> an old booklet that I had found in a stack of papers. It was the program for
> the 1990 U.S. Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C.
> To my shame and chagrin, I must admit now
> that I was not only a participant, but one of the featured speakers at this
> conference, side-by-side with Newt Gingrich, Jesse Helms, Phil Gramm and
> others... what should I call them? It's hard to pick a name strong enough
> for such ... individuals.
>
> Being in political exile from the former Soviet Union, I was duped
> by the U.S. Government and lured into this country. Now, as I understand how
> it happened, I am embarrassed that I allowed myself to be fooled. Today I
> blame myself for some of the direct consequences that have followed. Since
> my wife was pregnant at the time we came
> here, our daughter was doomed to be born and suffer in this extremely
> unpleasant social environment. Now, she can’t even attend school here,
> because of the constant danger of being infested with head lice from her
> American classmates...
>
> Without getting too deep into the particulars of my personal
> story, I just want to make my premise clear before proceeding with what I
> have learned while living here in America. First, I have to make it
> understood that I had absolutely no animosity or bias
> with respect to the United States before coming here. If I did, I wouldn't
> have
> participated along with Gingrich and his ilk in gatherings of right-wing
> American
> politicians. If I had any prejudices, they were for -- not against -- the
> USA. It may sound bizarre, but there was a time when I had a portrait of
> U.S. President Ronald Reagan on my writing-desk in Lithuania.
>
> The truth is I simply wasn't informed enough to have a fully
> formed opinion about the United States at that time. In fact, I knew very
> little about this country and this society. But I was always curious about
> America and I wanted to find out more. Beyond the grim
> reality of life in the Soviet Union came glimpses of a shining place, a good
> place. I wanted to understand this system, and how this society functioned.
> I really had no idea what true capitalism was like. This is why I came. I
> simply wanted to learn more about it.
>
> All the information concerning the United States that we had while
> living in the Soviet Union came mainly through propaganda sources: Soviet
> official propaganda -- naturally anti-American -- on one side, and American
> propaganda such as Voice of America and
> Free Europe radio programs from another side. It goes without saying we
> tended to believe American sources more. After all, the American propaganda
> always was much more sophisticated than the clumsy Soviet "agitprop."
>
> That being so, all my limited "knowledge" about America at that
> time was derived entirely from those propaganda sources. I had an eclectic
> mix of both very positive and very negative impressions in my head.
> Unfortunately, such information wasn't sufficient enough to form a solid
> opinion. One couldn't have a clear picture of American reality
> based only on such unreliable accounts. Therefore, when I was offered an
> option to come and live here, I was foolish enough to swallow the bait.
>
> Well, there are still thousands, perhaps even millions of naive
> people around the world who still dream about coming and living here.
> America remains the destination of choice for those who wish to emigrate
> from their own countries. It is still like a mysterious
> enchantress to many. Actually, this is the main reason why I'm writing this
> now. I want to tell the truth to the people who are either ill-informed and
> know next to nothing about this country, or whose knowledge is distorted by
> propaganda.
>
> In Lithuania, my native country, which was occupied by Russia at
> that time, I actively opposed Soviet communism and fought against it at
> every opportunity. As a result, I was expelled from the Soviet Union. One
> cannot say that I came here with a communist mindset.
>
> I always hated that Soviet version of their mock-socialism and my
> opinion on the whole remains unchanged. The Soviet system made claims to be
> "real socialism," but it wasn't socialism at all. At least, it wasn't
> characterized by the democratic egalitarianism that I
> define as socialism, and that I would like to see in the world. As a matter
> of fact, the Soviets distorted and defiled the very concept of socialism.
>
> Now I have spent almost nine years observing American society. Not
> only observing, but studying, analyzing, and comparing it to other
> societies. When I lived in the Soviet Union I thought that the Soviet
> communist system was the worst possible social order.
> Evidently, I was wrong. The more I scrutinize the American reality, the
> deeper I am shocked by all the evil that I see here.
>
> Ironically, after I contrast actually-existing American extreme
> capitalism with defunct Soviet Communism, I judge this system as no better
> than the other. Moreover, after living here, I realize that the American
> system is perhaps worse. Actually, from my point
> of view, they are both like two ends of the same stick. It makes no
> difference with which end to strike. Both cause the same pain...
>
> There can be no doubt that only a very few people in the former
> Soviet countries would claim that the communist system was perfect or even
> good, but perhaps even fewer would say that what they have now is better.
> Everyone would agree that the Soviet
> system had very serious flaws, but in some ways -- actually many -- yes, it
> was considerably better than what they have here in America. I'm of the
> opinion that for the vast majority of working people, the Soviet system,
> though bad enough as it was, would have been definitely more acceptable than
> this American version of extreme capitalism, if
> they had a choice.
>
> Well, we can see now how "happy" the majority of the people in
> those former Soviet countries are today, after they have tried out the
> reality of "free markets" on their own backs. Most people that I personally
> know, my close friends, relatives, and acquaintances
> who live in post-Soviet countries including my native Lithuania, acknowledge
> today that even the bad Soviet system wasn't so terrible when compared to
> American-style laissez-faire capitalism.
>
> According to a recent report published in the British medical
> journal Lancet, the average life expectancy at birth for Russians plunged
> dramatically since the collapse of the Soviet
> Union. The study reports that the collapse of the USSR and the subsequent
> restoration of capitalism has created an unprecedented demographic
> catastrophe: "The magnitude and steepness of the fluctuations in mortality
> rates and life expectancy in Russia are withoutparallel in the modern era."
>
> A wild and free market fury has led to a massive drop in the
> standard of living and to cultural decline in former Soviet countries.
> Health care and education have sharply deteriorated. Almost all of the
> social gains won through the hard work and sacrifice of generations of
> people have been destroyed.
>
> On the other hand, the power of the old Communist Party
> nomenklatura (cadre) has not only remained intact, it has grown. Former
> party and KGB functionaries enriched themselves enormously. They have become
> the ardent champions of private property. They dream now of not only
> matching the wealth and luxury of the American capitalists, but to exceed
> it.
>
> The Russian economy today is in severe crisis. The level of
> production continues to sink. Social differentiation has reached a very
> sharp level in Russia, as well as in all other post-Soviet countries, and
> brings about quite different moods within the various layers of society.
> Those few who have accumulated enormous wealth are, of course, happy with
> the changes. They want to preserve the status quo so they can hang onto what
> they haveplundered.
>
> At the other pole of society is the overwhelming majority. These
> people have been thrown into an existence marred by poverty, spiritual
> devastation and exhaustion.Viewing events through their personal
> perspective, they regard the present state of affairs
> as a complete social disintegration tantamount to the end of civilization
> and culture.
>
> Now after living here and seeing the capitalist reality by myself
> for long enough, I have no doubt about it either. All those horrible things
> in Russia are coming from here, from America. These are the very things that
> I see here every day. That is why I no longer
> have illusions about this country, this system, and this society. What I
> have seen here isfundamental injustice, brutal exploitation, ruthless
> competition, vulgar materialism,rampant consumerism, morbid individualism,
> obscene greed, odious hypocrisy, ad nauseum...
>
> To be honest, when I had to study the works of Karl Marx in
> school, I wasn't attracted by his ideas very much. It was required work
> assigned with little inspiration. But my experiences elevated me to where I
> can see more clearly. I am beginning to understand
> that the "old fellow" perhaps was right about more than he was wrong. It
> took me eight years of living in the citadel of capitalism to comprehend
> things and to become a staunch supporter of a democratic socialism. The
> sickening reality of America transformed me from a sort of pro-capitalist
> libertarian into a socialist to the core. My ideal now is a socialist
> society built upon justice, rule by the people, and solidarity.
>
> It would not be an overstatement to say I came here to America
> with a very open mind. But I had my eyes open wide as well, and it didn't
> take long to see reality clearly. If after all that I had learned I could
> turn back time and be able to return to the year 1989, I wouldn't make such
> a stupid decision as to move here, of course. Well, I don't think that I
> will stay in the United States for the rest of my life. Could I wish it on
> my family?
>
> With this essay I will try to shine a light on what should be all
> too evident human rights violations that the United States of America
> refuses to discuss. After years of observation, I have concluded that this
> system is fundamentally unjust and inhumane.
> America claims to be "The Land of Liberty and Democracy," but after living
> here I realize by now that this is not true. In reality, the United States
> of America is a land ofmisery and plutocracy.
>
> Now, I shall proceed with a detailed explanation of why this is
> so. I also must emphasize that what I say about the United States is based
> not only on my personal, subjective experiences but also on objective
> observation, study, and analysis.
> ______________________________________________________
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-- Joe R. Golowka joegolowka at earthlink.net
"When you are right, you cannot be too radical; When you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative" --Martin Luther King, Jr.