I recall what Senator McCarthy stated
In the 1950's during the increasing tempo of the cold war between the US and USSR, Senator McCarthy stated "The Communists will have you digging though garbage for a living." He went on to conduct a witch hunt through all sectors of society. Many lives were ruined in the senate hearing committee on "Unamerican activities" on allegations and hearsay. The US invested heavily to bring on the collapse of the USSR and succeeded in 1989. Thereafter the US began an assault on social programs in the US in earnest and Canada followed suit later. Now communism (at least in the USSR) is gone and many people find themselves digging through garbage in capitalist America. In addition, the things that the Soviet Union was accused of, like neighbors encouraged to snitch to the authorities on one another, is now true in America. There are other activities that the USSR was attacked for and accused of doing to its people that are now being done in the US and Canada. So then, what's going on? You can't say the US and Canada are communist and many people have an acute prejudice against socialism and communism without knowing anything about it except propaganda propagated by opposing forces.
I agree with you that the "anti-communist" sentiment of the US during the McCarthy era was unjustifiable repression. Hardly compares in scope however to the amount of repression dealt out by the communist death squads in every country where the state has run amok. It's not a matter of "right" it's a matter of choosing what may be least repressive.
I also agree that the corporate greed and unchecked consumerism in North America has resulted in 3 million homeless. Compare that to 8 million starved-to-death Siberians and 6 million murdered Chinese. How many dead Cubans? Shall we guess?
That does not mean that I think Communism is a solution. I have less problem with democratic socialism as Sweden practises so please stop assuming that just because someone doesn't like communism [and I don't need the American government to tell me why I don't agree] they necessarily want to wipe out the communists or socialists. I believe they have their place. Dissidents always do, if you want a reasonably free society.
Your historical analysis is also inaccurate. The gutting of social services--which is also a lie the public is told--there's more social services now than ever existed before with the medicalization of political disenfranchisement as personal failing--began with "reganism", "thatcherism" and "mulronyism".
The middle class was tired, wiped out and inflation ate up the economy. Had dick all to do with the fall of the Russian regime. Started LONG before Russia fell. The corporate greedmongers threw millions of middle-income-wage earners out of work. An overinflated economy based on fake money began to collapse of its own weight in the 70's. At that point--the factories needed the workers and middle class male run unions gained power. As economics dictates, you can't make wage slaves unless there is a shortage of work. So the obvious economic solution is to create a job shortage. Now where, oh where are you going to sell all that useless crap that's been created? [or as a friend of mine puts it--cheez doodle economics]
Nobody needed the fall of Russia to see the "conservatives" were not technically conservative at all [meaning less tax, less governmental legislation] but corporate shills. The same corporate interests WANTED the Russian revolution and the Chinese revolutions. I suspect Cuba might have been the only surprise although I wouldn't bet my last dollar on that either.
Revolutions were never created by the "workers"--they were created by the powermongerers backed by the armament interests. Marx, Lenin, Mao, Robespierre etc. were ALL backed by the arms manufacturers. How do you think they raised armies so quickly? God didn't come down from the sky and hand them the guns. You can't run a revolution without money. People didn't "take to the streets" contrary to popular opinion--the majority were busy living their lives as usual when the shooting started.
When communism stopped being profitable because the prime corporate movers needed markets in Russia to sell their useless products then it was allowed to go the happy way of entropy and 'decline' into a rudimentary 'democracy'. So now the Russians can wear Nikes and play with their ipods.
I do agree that the creation of "communism" as "other" served its purpose. However, I still don't believe it's an effective form of government.
I believe you have the right to believe whatever you choose and that it is important that you have the legal right to promote it publicly as well as try to use whatever political influence you can to make your dreams come true.
I don't happen to agree with you.
The difference is, agree or not--I've never seen a communist government [although I have seen some socialist and democratic governments] that would allow dissenters to live for long. What you, and no one else has the right to do, is spill our blood to meet a political agenda.
And that, my friend in a nutshell is why I will NEVER support a communist regime.