During the Russian Civil War the Bolsheviks turned towards terror as a means of accomplishing their objectives. Leon Trotsky noted that “intimidation is a powerful weapon of policy.” He further noted “The revolution…kills individuals, and intimidates thousands.”
In describing Vladimir Lenin Victor Sebestyen wrote: “He battered opponents into submission with the deliberate use of violent language which he acknowledged was ‘calculated to evoke hatred, aversion, contempt…not to convince, not to correct the mistakes of the opponent but to destroy him, to wipe him and his organization of the face of the earth.’”
If Lenin could intimidate his opponents into silence he would be able to pursue his agenda. After seeing success in his personal debates it is not surprising that Lenin would include such tactics in his national political policy. In 1918 a Pravda article noted “The anthem of the working class will be a song of hatred and revenge!” You were with Lenin or you deserved to be destroyed. Using terror as a tool of intimidation allowed Lenin to secure power. Could a constitutional monarchy or a democracy have been created if the majority of people stood up and rejected Lenin and his intimidating campaign of terror?
It is not surprising that the Soviet Union devolved into a totalitarian nightmare. When governance is based on intimidation and force subjugation of a nation will surely follow. If you allow yourself to be censored due to fear of political opponents you risk losing your personal and national sovereignty.
Thomas Aquinas is credited as one of the greatest proponents of natural law. During his time in Cologne he was taught by Albertus Magnus. Magnus used the teachings of Aristotle in his mentorship of Thomas Aquinas.
Samuel Adams believed in American Independence from Great Britain. He is one of the most well know Son's of Liberty. On August 1, 1776 he gave a speech to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
Here is a short story about how I envisioned the lead up to the attack on Ryazan in December of 1237.
Boom, boom, boom, the sound of the war drums was incessantly ringing in Brother Spirodon’s ears. The traditional daily tasks of monastic life had been disrupted by the arrival of Mongol army. In fact it had been almost two weeks since his daily life had been turned upside down. The predictability and structure of his life began to change when the first news of catastrophe to the east had reached his ears.
An unstoppable pagan army was destroying everything in its path and now Ryazan was next. They moved as fast as the wind and could not be stopped. From the first accounts that had arrived Brother Spirodon had prayed that the pagans from the east would move south and bypass Ryazan. The wealth and strategic location of Ryazan always made that unlikely. But as Brother Ryazan knew miracles did happen and with God nothing was impossible. So he had spent every free moment for days praying that the invaders would pass by Ryazan. Those prayers had not been answered. The Mongols arrived ...
“In my view, the composer, just as the poet, the sculptor or the painter, is in duty bound to serve Man, the people. He must beautify life and defend it. He must be a citizen first and foremost, so that his art might consciously extol human life and lead man to a radiant future.”
Sergei Prokofiev
