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A review by aristotle910
Warning to the West by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
5.0
How blind we have been. How blind we have been to the atrocities in the east; the results of a dogmatic communist ideology, bound to result in complete totalitarianism and a complete and utter destruction of individuality. And when the atrocities were said and done, still we did not listen. The ceaseless ideological warfare, and we are blind.
We owe much to Mr. Solzhenitsyn. He came to the west to warn us. He didn’t have to. He could’ve left us to rot and stew in our own ideological idiocy as Soviet Russia engulfed us in their propagandistic, deceitful behavior. Solzhenitsyn exposed everything that Soviet Russia did, every crime they had committed, and the horror that their people had to endure. And still we laugh and scoff behind our constitution and freedom, that we so often take for granted. But according to Mr. Solzhenitsyn, even that won’t stop such an idealistic dogma from invading and terrorizing our Land of the Free. I’d like to put a quote from Mr. Solzhenitsyn’s speech in England:
“Human nature is full of riddles and contradictions; its very complexity engenders art - and by art I mean the search for something more interesting than simple linear formulations, flat solutions; oversimplified explanations. One of these riddles is: how is it that people who have been crushed by the sheer weight of slavery and cast to the bottom of the pit can nevertheless find the strength to rise up and free themselves, first in spirit, and then in body; while those who soar unhampered over the peaks of freedom suddenly lose the taste for freedom, lose the will to defend it, and, hopelessly confused and lost, almost begin to crave slavery.”
This is a striking issue! and not one to be taken lightly. Why is there this cycle? I often use this quote, but I think it suits this quote strongly:
“that ancient legend about paradise... Why it’s about us, about today. Yes! Just think. Those two, in paradise were given a choice: happiness without freedom, or freedom without happiness. There was no third alternative. Those idiots chose freedom, and what came of it? Of course, for ages afterward they longed for the chains. The chains—you understand? That’s what world sorrow was about. For ages! And only we have found the way of restoring happiness”
“We” by Yevgeny Zamyatin
This cycle is apparent once you spot it. We never truly value our freedom until it’s gone. Isn’t that true with everything? But with this, is goes a step farther! When freedom exists in nations in the west, the people grow bored. They want something new. They, then, “long for the chains”, said Yevgeny Zamyatin. Why? Why, when we have such beautiful freedom, do we resort to slavery, and beg to be subjugated to an authoritarian state. This is due to radical and dogmatic idealism. When such ideals are proposed, we have a proclivity to believe it, only because it promises benefits. But once we realize when safety is offered in the place of freedom, we no longer are allowed to exercise our inherent individual freedoms, and thus, stops the spread of alternative and individualistic ideas.
What is the importance of individualistic freedom? It is a good question, anyway. Jordan Peterson says that freedom allows the spread of unfiltered ideas. Censorship is inherent in a communist society.
To wrap up my rambles, this book is amazing. Solzhenitsyn makes strong arguments.
5/5
We owe much to Mr. Solzhenitsyn. He came to the west to warn us. He didn’t have to. He could’ve left us to rot and stew in our own ideological idiocy as Soviet Russia engulfed us in their propagandistic, deceitful behavior. Solzhenitsyn exposed everything that Soviet Russia did, every crime they had committed, and the horror that their people had to endure. And still we laugh and scoff behind our constitution and freedom, that we so often take for granted. But according to Mr. Solzhenitsyn, even that won’t stop such an idealistic dogma from invading and terrorizing our Land of the Free. I’d like to put a quote from Mr. Solzhenitsyn’s speech in England:
“Human nature is full of riddles and contradictions; its very complexity engenders art - and by art I mean the search for something more interesting than simple linear formulations, flat solutions; oversimplified explanations. One of these riddles is: how is it that people who have been crushed by the sheer weight of slavery and cast to the bottom of the pit can nevertheless find the strength to rise up and free themselves, first in spirit, and then in body; while those who soar unhampered over the peaks of freedom suddenly lose the taste for freedom, lose the will to defend it, and, hopelessly confused and lost, almost begin to crave slavery.”
This is a striking issue! and not one to be taken lightly. Why is there this cycle? I often use this quote, but I think it suits this quote strongly:
“that ancient legend about paradise... Why it’s about us, about today. Yes! Just think. Those two, in paradise were given a choice: happiness without freedom, or freedom without happiness. There was no third alternative. Those idiots chose freedom, and what came of it? Of course, for ages afterward they longed for the chains. The chains—you understand? That’s what world sorrow was about. For ages! And only we have found the way of restoring happiness”
“We” by Yevgeny Zamyatin
This cycle is apparent once you spot it. We never truly value our freedom until it’s gone. Isn’t that true with everything? But with this, is goes a step farther! When freedom exists in nations in the west, the people grow bored. They want something new. They, then, “long for the chains”, said Yevgeny Zamyatin. Why? Why, when we have such beautiful freedom, do we resort to slavery, and beg to be subjugated to an authoritarian state. This is due to radical and dogmatic idealism. When such ideals are proposed, we have a proclivity to believe it, only because it promises benefits. But once we realize when safety is offered in the place of freedom, we no longer are allowed to exercise our inherent individual freedoms, and thus, stops the spread of alternative and individualistic ideas.
What is the importance of individualistic freedom? It is a good question, anyway. Jordan Peterson says that freedom allows the spread of unfiltered ideas. Censorship is inherent in a communist society.
To wrap up my rambles, this book is amazing. Solzhenitsyn makes strong arguments.
5/5