> I should maybe add that I don't think Lenin's popularity today has
> much to do with the actual role he played in history, much less with
> his political or analytical theories. He has been mythologized; he
> represents the figure of a strong, determined, selfless and
> disciplined man who wants the best for the country. Actually it's
> rather similar to how many people view Stalin, though society is far
> more united in its view of Lenin. Society is polarized around Stalin.
I suppose most countries have some sort of mythologized Founding Father (hardly ever Mother, of course) who symbolizes the "spirit of the nation." In the US he has been Washington, of course, but strangely, I detect a tendency for him to be more and more ignored. When I was a kid, we heard a lot about him -- false teeth and cherry tree and all --
but not these days. (Of course, I'm not in grade school any more, or have kids there, so I don't know whether the same hoary tales are still told.)
The loony Right, of course, have been trying to promote Reagan to that post, but their campaign doesn't seem to be getting anywhere. Perhaps they will have better luck with Shrub.
Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org __________________________________ Belinda: Ay, but you know we must return good for evil. Lady Brute: That may be a mistake in the translation.
-- Sir John Vanbrugh: The Provok’d Wife (1697), I.i.