Socialism? ... Be Careful What You Wish For.

In response to my last post about the Occupy Wall Street Gang, a friend wrote me the following email with permission to post and give her credit (as credit is due):

I am originally from the Ukraine.

In reference to communism v.s, capitalism I can tell you from my first hand experience about living in the USSR. We left out of there more than 30 years ago like a "bat out of hell". I can tell you that it was no different than the system we are heading to with this administration. I stood in lines for food and other necessities with my parents, lived in a one room small communal apartment with mom, dad and great-grandma who watched me after school while my parents worked. I was subjected to constant communist propaganda and got into trouble in school once because I made an innocent childish comment about Lenin. My parents were called into the school director's office and chastised for poor communist parenting skills. My parents were not party members, they chose not to be, and they wanted to follow their Jewish culture that was brutally oppressed by the regime. We had no shower and a communal kitchen for our family and four other neighbors. There was one stove, one sink, and one bathroom, which led to constant arguments.

As for education and medical care, yes, we had excellent schools and universities that were free, but the preference was once again given to upper echelon members of the communist party -- and nepotism was rampant. Yes, we had free medical care with amazing doctors, most of them women who were paid barely enough to live on. Our hospitals were decrepit, and lacked equipment and medicine. Family members had to provide the necessities for patients. I remember having a tonsillectomy without anesthesia while my mom held me down and the doctor did his thing, with a bucket in front of me to catch the blood. We had excellent free dental care, doctors made house calls. But, everyday we had to carefully watch what we said. My parents could get fired if they opposed the government or refused to attend a rally. Members of the communist party could get away with a lot, and had many privileges. I want to remind everyone to remember to never forget Stalin, Khruschev and the gang.

Those are my memories of communist/socialist state. It was a real life dystopia.  The memories of my childhood and my city are much more pleasant if I take away the "system" aspect.

by Ella Jou