Re: Getting your work critiqued (but by whom?)

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James A. Donald
> > lots of intellectuals are *still* ratonalizing the crimes 
> > of Stalin.  "I am completely opposed to Stalin but ..."

Stuart Houghton
> Well, I don't know that we are exactly being overrun by 
> Stalin apologists, to be completely honest.

Subsitute Kindly Uncle Ho, for Kindly Uncle Joe.

Recollect the great Ethiopian famine, which was supposedly due 
to the umpteenth successive year of bad weather.

The same rationalizations are still flying, though for the most 
part with more recent historical figures -- and among those who 
discuss less recent events, the same rationalizations are 
flying with the same old historical figures.

> Being able to see a good point in amongst the bad is not 
> necessarily a bad thing

The examples I gave consisted of ignoring closely related bad 
points, and concocting good points either by pure fabrication, 
or by forcing false context on real events, or out of total 
ignorance.

> Take your example of Stalin.  When evaluating his life and 
> deeds we can either try to examine the reasons for what he 
> did - the political climate; his allies and their agendas; 
> the choices he was forced to make for good or ill; the 
> factors that made him the man he was - and at least stand a 
> fighting chance of preventing them from happening again, or 
> we can seal the book with the word 'Evil', file it under 'E' 
> and never have to think about it again.

But in fact, my knowledge and understanding of Stalin is deep, 
while the ignorance of the those who deny the role of evil in 
history is laughable and pitiable.

For example I understand why everyone who was arrested was 
tortured into conffession without being told what they were 
supposed to confess to.  You have no idea about the processes 
of terror, and if you were familiar with those processes you 
would not have the foggiest idea of why they were the way that 
they were.

Whose is ignorant?  Those who think the great Ethiopian famine
was caused by the umpteenth year of bad weather, or those who
think it was caused by evil men?

Stuart Houghton:
> > > But before 'they' were monsters, weren't they potential  
> > > monsters first, just like you?

James A. Donald:
> > Free will.   Now they are monsters.

Stuart Houghton:
> So they chose to be evil?

Exactly so.  

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         James A. Donald
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