“Teach your children well,
Their father’s hell did slowly go by,” …
From: Teach the children well; written by Graham Nash.
“…Their father’s hell” That’s a pretty apt description of the lives of many during the last century, beginning in 1917 when the Marxist Communists took over Russia, and until now when we see the tragic destruction of Venezuela. In just 20 years under a Socialist government, Venezuela, once the most prosperous country in South America, is now the poorest, and millions of its citizens are trying to escape.
And yet addled, or perhaps venal, professors and politicians, media and entertainers still peddle the monstrous lie to our young people that socialism will give them a better future. It’s absolutely, and empirically, untrue as the following graph proves.
Notice that since the collapse of communism in the late 1980s, and the widespread embrace, however imperfectly, of capitalism, the level of poverty has gone sharply downward, and the level of prosperity has gone sharply upward. But sadly, over the last several years, young people who don’t know better – and some older adults who should – have become positive towards Marxist/socialism as a legitimate political and economic philosophy. It is not.
In 1945, at the end of World War II, Russia created the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR, a Marxist/Socialist empire which enslaved Eastern Europe and much of northern Asia. As Churchill said, an Iron Curtain had descended across Europe, dividing West from East. Over the next 45 years, thousands of people died trying to escape that Marxist/Socialist prison. The whole rotten structure collapsed in 1989, under the weight of its corruption and unworkable ideology.
Mao Tse Tung’s Communists took over China in 1945 and killed tens of millions of their citizens trying to impose socialism. (**It should be noted that over the last 30 years, by allowing capitalism China has lifted hundreds of millions of its citizens out of poverty and starvation) In Cambodia, one quarter of the population was killed by Communists attempting to create their Socialist Utopia.
But what about Marxism’s less violent iterations, Socialism and Social Democracies? Communism imposes socialist policies by force, while Socialism, as in Venezuela, simply uses the power of government to take over industries and bring them under the ownership of the state. Social Democracies, with similarities to fascist economic policy in Germany, bring business and industry under state control through taxation and regulation. All eventually must fail because they ignore human nature, which is fundamentally conservative.
Scandinavian countries that went strongly socialist after World War II soon realized that they were going broke and wisely modified their policies. They now call themselves capitalists with social safety nets, i.e., Social Democrats, but like Canada, they’re now finding that they can’t even afford that. Here’s a graph showing the gradual decline of prosperity in the Scandinavian countries and the massive rise in prosperity in Ireland after it went strongly capitalist.
Canada went Social Democrat under Pierre Trudeau, Justin’s father, and within 25 years was so indebted that 40 cents of every dollar collected in taxes went to pay interest on the debt. With a gun to their head, the Liberal government of Jean Chretien finally tackled deficits and the debt – partly by downloading program costs to the provinces.
For nearly 20 years, government deficits and debt were bad words in Canada, but then governments backslid, and debt began to increase. Sadly, under Justin Trudeau’s Liberals that trend has been massively accelerated. If it’s not stopped, within 10 years Canada will begin to resemble Venezuela.
So how to stop it? Simple. Become educated, and then, “Teach your children (and your grandchildren) well.” That’s the best legacy you can leave them.
I’m Dave Reesor
This is my first blog since the end of November. I apologize, but I simply needed time to think carefully about 2019, and what would be most important in 2020. I believe that both last year and this year, the most important thing as citizens is for us to continue defending our freedoms; freedom to think and speak, to practice our faith, to follow our conscience, to raise our children as we believe best, and freedom from bureaucracies and activists imposing ideologies that destroy opportunity. It’s a never-ending battle, but one we must never tire of fighting. Surely the 20th century taught us that!
If you agree with this, please Share it with your children and grandchildren, and Like and Share with your friends and colleagues so they can share it with their offspring! Minds are changed one at a time.
This is a note that I sent to the Chairman of the recent Essentials of Freedom conference in Red Deer Alberta, which was sponsored by the Economic Education Association. An absolutely exceptional conference! For clarity I’ve editorially expanded on points that I made in the note.
In 1905, when it was proposed that a province called Buffalo be carved out of the Northwest Territories, the Laurentian Group, together with the Liberal government, decided that a province as large as Québec or Ontario might pose a future threat to their domination of the Dominion. So they ran an arbitrary line right down the middle and created Alberta and Saskatchewan. There was no rational reason for it except to keep Alberta and Saskatchewan small enough that they could be controlled.
A personal story. I learned about how Canada’s government operates when I was about 15 years old. My grandfather is pictured on 
On Canada Day, Paula Simons wrote an article in the Edmonton Journal entitled: “My Canada includes Alberta.” Heartwarming, if it were true.
National, or post-national, whether it’s Justin Trudeau and his government, or the law societies of British Columbia and Ontario, in today’s Canada, tolerance, inclusion, and compromise apply only if you affirm the latest Progressivist ideology. Otherwise you are excluded from federal programs, you are not allowed to open a law school, and you can end up in jail if you don’t mouth the approved pronouns.
For those who like to be informed, there are a couple of really big events coming up in the next few weeks in Calgary. The first event is the Things that Matter Conference, February 8 and 9 at the Best Western, Port O’ Call. Sponsored by the Essentials of Freedom organization, it has an incredible lineup of speakers. Here are a few.
By the way, John Robson, who might be called Canada’s walking encyclopedia on the history of rights and freedoms developed since Magna Carta, (and which we are now, sadly, in the process of losing thanks to Justin Trudeau’s genetically inherited admiration for all things dictatorial), is a featured speaker at the upcoming 
When confronted with absolute proof of the links – Theresa Ng had presciently taken screenshots of the linked websites – the links were removed. But then Kristopher Wells took to social media to denounce Ms. Ng for being “hysterical” and “sensationalist.” Are you serious? In what demented world is a mother being hysterical by objecting to explicitly sexual content being provided, unbeknownst to her, to her children?
These facts tell you everything you need to know before you vote in the upcoming Alberta election. Because, knowing all these facts – and she must have – Rachel Notley has continued with David Eggen as Minister of Education, which, in practical terms, makes her complicit in what normal people would see as the corruption of minors.
Luckily for Ms. Notley, Mr. Eggen, and Mr. Wells, they live in Alberta, because in Pennsylvania it’s possible they could be charged with a felony and imprisoned. Not a bad idea in my opinion, but in Alberta, the best we can do and must do, four months from now, is throw the creeps out!
Compare his perspective on parental rights with that of Alberta’s increasingly totalitarian bureaucracy, the Alberta Department of Education, and Education Minister Eggen, who by his actions and utterances apparently agrees with Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda Minister who said: “The youth belong to us!” Wherever you live, it is increasingly likely that your Department of Education believes the same.
Wells is a professor, and a confidant of Alberta’s education Minister, David Eggen. Mr. Eggen engaged Wells to supervise the construction and launch of Alberta’s Gay Straight Alliance, or GSA, website. For several months, no one paid attention. And then, Edmonton mother, Theresa Ng who is now with 
Did this cartoon equating Christians to Nazis and ISIS, published on Twitter by Kristopher Wells in June 2016, inspire Don Braid to somewhere call it “vile”? I couldn’t find it. Wells has never apologized, and the CBC, and the Metro Star, a local publication of the almost comically Progressivist Toronto Star, seem to be okay with the cartoon, and with Well’s lack of apology.
I was at the conference at which Mr. Carpay spoke and I listened to his entire speech. Full disclosure: I know John Carpay, and I know with absolute certainty, that to suggest that he broadly equates the rainbow flag with Nazi-ism or Communism is utter nonsense. John is simply one of Canada’s most effective defenders of freedom and so the Progressivist Left hates him.
Here’s Candice’s article. 
The anti-free speech, anti-freedom of assembly Progressivist Left is at it again. The target of their opprobrium is Prof. Jordan Peterson whose original sin was to insist that he would not submit to being ordered, by government, to speak certain words. In saner times he would have been lauded as a free-speech champion.
So what’s next? Peterson has sold over 1 million books in the last six months, so is the Progressivist Left now going to organize a Peterson book burning? In the 20th century, the Left, operating under the banners of Communism, Nazism, Maoism and other Left-wing-isms, made book burning and book banning part of their modus operandi. And for good measure they killed 100 million of their citizens.