Op-Ed: We Have the Freedom to Vote Against Freedom

by Aliza Bas Menachem

Part of the Chabad-Lubavitch culture is to know the Mesiras Nefesh of the previous Rebbes and their Chassidim who lived in Russia. In particular, there were horrendous conditions under communism. Many Chassidim arrived in America with personal stories of how they were treated in Communist Russia.

What I wonder is… Can the younger generations, born and raised in America, understand the underlying evil in those stories. We know about the actual hardships and how the Chassidim risked their lives, with some actually sacrificing their lives. But do we understand how the Communist regime under Stalin was able to perpetrate evil against so many people?

It is easy to say that Stalin was a dictator. But that answer is oversimplified. Firstly, because communism was supposed to free the citizens from tyrannical rulers. And secondly, it is important to understand the underpinnings of the rise of a dictator. We don’t want it to happen again. We need to wary of early signs of dictatorship.

I searched around the internet for an explanation of the rise of dictators. One of the websites said the first step to being a dictator is to crave power. Ratzon. A strong Ratzon. Because the road to dictatorship takes determination.

From the Wikipedia page about Stalin, I quote: “Trotsky criticised Stalin’s rude manners, excessive power, ambition…” OK, so that fits. Then fast forward to The Atlantic magazine, Sept 17, 2016 and we find: “They all thought that she [Hillary Clinton] wanted to win more, which means that she’ll say and do anything to get elected, which means that the problem of integrity is even higher with her than it is for him [Donald J Trump],” Luntz, the moderator of the AARP-sponsored focus group, commented.

We all know Hillary craves power. She doesn’t care about the American people. She calls freedom loving Americans ‘deplorables.’ She doesn’t like us because we want to secure our borders so we can give jobs to Americans and keep our families safe from un-vetted mobs from terrorist infested countries. Not all Muslims are terrorists, but almost all terrorists are Muslim.

Then I found this quote with another point about the rise of dictators: “Some government systems, primarily those with unequal branches of power, make it easier for dictators to emerge. In contrast, governments like the United States, which feature a system of checks and balances, never let one branch dominate the others.”

The system of checks and balances in the USA is brilliant. Really. But the catch is. The people in power have to be moral people. Not perfect. But decent people with traditional American values.

Right now – the checks and balances are not working. There is a deadlock. The President does not want Clinton to be properly investigated and prosecuted, and the Attorney General, the Department and Justice and the FBI are cooperating. If Hillary is found guilty of crimes with her private email server – the President will be implicated. Let’s hope the FBI can proceed with other investigations that do not involve the President so that Hillary can be brought to justice.

In the Wall Street Journal, Oct 31, 2016, the Honorable Judge Michael Mukasey wrote: “Members of the military have been imprisoned and dishonorably discharged for mishandling far less information, and prosecutions for criminal negligence are commonplace and entirely permissible… [FBI Director] Mr. Comey acceded to the apparent wish of President Obama that no charges be brought.”

Another tool of dictatorship ascension is control of the media. Pravda. It was probably easier to control the media before the internet. But that has not stopped Hillary. All the major media outlets are supportive of her.

Another dictatorship tool: Elimination of opposition. The Democratic Party obviously cleared the field for Clinton’s nomination. But then Bernie Sanders started to get support. The Wikileaks emails have proven that the Democratic Party eliminated his chance of success in various ways, including an ‘agreement’.

Elimination of opposition can also mean real elimination. There are plenty of unsolved murders of people who have posed a threat to the Clintons. The cases are unsolved, but they serve to instill fear in anyone who opposes the Clintons.

I have read that in Stalinist Russia, conversations started by stating loyalty to Stalin, as a precaution. Not reported in the Clinton-controlled media are the number of assaults on people wearing pro-Trump t-shirts. Often bloody assaults. In a Boca Raton high school, where there are no rules against wearing clothes with political slogans, a student was threatened with suspension because of her pro-Trump t-shirt. She did nothing wrong. Other students in the class disrupted the class because of the t-shirt, but they did not get punished, she did. Wearing these t-shirts is an expression of freedom of speech. We do not live in Stalinist Russia. And we should keep it that way!

I am drawing these similarities – not because I think we are in Stalinist times – but because we are in the direction that could indicate the first steps towards a dictatorship. Now we can stop it before it develops.

A bigger government takes decision making away from the citizens and gives it to an elite few who control the money and military. Not to mention Obamacare. No freedom of choice there.  Big government is the Clinton direction.

On the other side, Trump wants to drain the swamp of corrupt Washington insiders and tackle the federal budget deficit. He wants a smaller government and return decision making to the citizens. Trump wants to allow choice in education. He wants to lower taxes and give special tax breaks to mothers who choose to stay at home and raise their own children. A dictator wants to limit education choices and to get the children into the system as soon as possible. The ultimate mind control starts young.

We have a problem. Complacency is not the solution. We have the freedom to vote. Let’s vote to keep our freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom to pursue happiness. Let’s vote to uphold what the Rebbe referred to, in his correspondence with President Regan… What the Rebbe referred to with the highest respect… The virtue and merit of traditional ‘American values’ and all they stand for.

15 Comments

  • Seriously?

    You want to spout Republican bs propaganda, go right ahead. You may even be right that Hillary is worse than Donald. I’d say that the dictator argument is the wrong approach, see kettle v pot, but if that’s the approach you want to take, fine. But please leave the mesiras nefesh of our Rebbeim and eltere chassidim out of it! They don’t deserve to be dragged through your mud.

  • Andrea Schonberger

    I fear Ms. Menachem needs to go to the library and check out a really good book on world and United States political history. Wikipedia and WikiLeaks are so unreliable that quoting from them is forbidden in the writing of college term papers. Info from them is not to be taken either seriously or literally.

  • Unbelievable

    You obviously only get your news from a select few sources. Trump has a lot more dictatorial traits than that of Hillary. For example bannning media that is critical of him, threatening to prison his opponents, (calling for a special prosecutor is ok, but to come to the conclusion before the trial is a major problem) and more.

  • I'm with Her..

    I’m 100% with the author on this.

    More than the corruption of Hillary herself, the left and it’s hatred of personal freedom needs to be voted out of this country for good.

    Many have an invested hatred of Trump from earlier on during the primaries when he won over their preferred candidate, but they seem to not realize that the alternative is the most corrupt candidate in history.

    P.S. Andrea: Wikileaks has an undisputed and clean history for over 10 years. I have not seen any legitimate claim that anything they have so far released is false. WL has been the darling of the liberal left when they were exposing President Bush, but they seem to think that the need for transparency does not apply to their candidate. #DrainTheSwamp

  • We should vote!

    I agree that it’s important for our community to vote. Not just for this election.
    More so for the smaller elections that really impact our district. The williamsburg and boro park communities are very into voting. Politicians want to help them because they provide many votes. They are a strong voting block. We should all sign up to vote and start voting. Ideally, we should come together and stand behind specific politicians that promise to help our community.

  • Unliberal

    The reasons we should not vote for the democratic candidate is because of the party’s antithesis to the sheva mitzvos b’nei Noach and the party’s affiliation with members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Also the candidate did not acknowledge at the convention that there US motto is ” In G-d We Trust”.

  • Judith

    Vote for Trump. Just check the facts. Hillary will follow Obama. Obama empowered a terrorist country like Iran . Hillary hugged and kisses our enemySuaa Arafat. How can we vote for Jew hater? No way Hillary . Everyone from age 18 and up who is registered, Go vote for Trump

  • I'm With Hillary

    First few paragraphs had me excited that crownheights.info had a pro Hillary essay.

  • DeClasse' Intellectual

    One thing to consider is the Clintons and the Clinton foundation; rather, who is the big makers in the Clinton foundation. One of them is George Soros whose reputation for anti-Jewishness speakes volumes for itself. Just remember, the Soros’s were big supporters of Adolph Hitler and the current one has defended the Nazi genocide against the Jews and other minorities. He is one of the leders of all the anti-Israel movements;
    consider that in your vote, for those who have not as of yet.

  • Gee zus

    Hahahahahahaahahahahahahahahaa.

    Wait, you’re serious?

    HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH.

    There are arguments to be made for Trump (albeit none one would make in polite company, for fear of rightfully being outed as bigoted, immoral, and/or stupid). But to stretch the arguments laid out here, which have been very, very, clearly applied to Trump, onto president-elect Clinton, is insane.

    Literally everything you’ve written about, from morals, to press freedom, to associating with anti-Semites, have been Trumps entire candidacy.

    With G-d’s help, over time, you’ll learn about Trump – and maybe come to realize how so wrong you are.

    • Anonymous

      Maybe you did not get the updated shilling memo, but calling names is no longer effective.
      People are sick and tired of the lefts demagoguery and attempts to repress opposition via shaming and it simply does not work.
      Call me what you want, but I happily choose the possibly mean candidate over the corrupt pro-war, vindictive open-border globalist to make this country great again.

  • Anonymous

    Only votes from Florida Ohio Pa. do count
    Ant Ny orNJ or Ca vote has 0 value
    Therefore I am not voting

  • DeClasse' Intellectual

    313) THAT IS WHY WE HAVE PEOPLE LIKE REPRESENTATIVE CLARK WHO DOES NOT CARE ABOUT REPRESENTING HER JEWISH CONSTIENCY