Why are people still terrified of communism?
926931
People are not terrified of communism today or anything else!!!!!!!!The McCarthy era is over a long time ago!!
782371
You bring up a good point.\n\nAs I began to educate myself concerning 20th century USA history, a compelling question leaped out at me, '..since all the wars evolved around stopping the spread of communism, WHY or HOW did communism threaten our way of life or our capitalist structure?"\n\nI mean seriously... our leaders felt so threatened by the spread of communism that they literally went to war REPEATEDLY and sacrificed American lives to stop it. Why? If communism is so bad and capitalism is so grand then what is the threat? Wouldn't the ppl themselves reject it?\n\nI honestly think the answer to that question is that when ppl truly do understand the fairness and equality of communism they tend to choose that over the class system of capitalism... that is what we feared. That is my opinion.\n\nBtw, your 80s data is a little off. We didn't have an encounter with Iran in the 80s. There was the Iran/Contra scandal in 1979 but that didn't result in military action. Gulf War 1, involving Iraq, was in 1989.
610039
Look at George Keennan article on the soviet union, \n\nBasicly \n\nthought communism was in the long run gonna die, \n\nDidn't want to start a world war, as communism thought would go carzy if near death\n\nTHought in long run us, stronger than soviets,
1043827
Because China is an oppressive communist country. They sensore everything their people see, they don't want any individuality or new ideas. China is a country that forces the people to believe what they want them to believe.
895494
people are scared of that they do not understand\n\nThey would rather someone tell them what they want to hear instead of learning the truth and be shown they are wrong
918734
I know for sure that Communism is alive and well.\n\nMany of my junior high teachers are STILL there!
1023297
Ha. The "commies" are truly viewed as ev-il and injust, only because of Stalin and the other soviets who mucked up Marx's ideals! \n\nThe ignorance surrounding communism is outrageous.  People will never know that communism was supposed to benefit the whole and that the "Proletariat" was the group that misinterpreted and ruined it.  Also, they don't know that Marx had ideas for an INDUSTRIAL country to adopt his theories not an AGREGARIAN country like China. \n\nIgnorance is the key here. If people under 18 don't go to college, don't read Marx and have parents that grew up in the 50's and 60's the answer is YES. There is an anticommie sentiment prevelant here.
54458
Its not just about money, some just want the status quo to continue, others want to see change happen for safety reasons.  Overall, people are just scared no matter what and war usually makes people think about their own mortality and how precious life can be.  Then there are those that believe in standing up and supporting the country that gave them freedoms that otherwise they wouldn't enjoy elsewhere.  I was anti-war while in high school but I ended up joining the Army and spent the best 5.5 years in my life.  I would do it again if I could.  But I learned also that those that have been to war, don't want it to happen again but they realize that sometimes war is the only answer, talking doesn't always solve it.
216602
Fear of the unknown.  Until people become used to an idea they fear it.  Once it is familiar it loses its shock value.
220119
yes.\n\n  All of history is full of bad examples of communism that were misrepresented totalitarianism in disguise. But pure unpolitisized communism is a quest for a utopic society where no one person is any better than the next, and everyone shares the wealth of the community as well as their fair share of the work that supports it. That is the true reason for The west's aversion to the idea of socialism and communism. We here are a pyramid society that takes from the bottom to support the top 10% of the population's interests and agendas. AAnd more times than not those agendas are to keep the pyramid stacked in their favor at the expence of the bottom 90% of the population. That is what is at the heart of modern capitalism. Before capitalism there were other ways to rule over the masses, such as slavery, indentured servitude, religious superstision....but the basic pyramid was the same and has been passed down to modern times because 90% of the people are asleep at the wheel for their entire lives.
1014003
People tend to say they hate things that they dont know anything about because they are scared.  They fear it because it is different from how they are and they dont know it, so its scarey to them.
292441
There are always sacrafices needed and made so that we can enjoy our freedoms. You can't force anyone to live together in peace. No matter how hard you try, it doesn't work. That is the big ideal that socialist/communist societies try to portray. History has shown them to be failures.
391131
in the 80'2, people used to stay in a lonq 3-4 hours queue for everything. You could hardly find bananas or oranges...for example...Fear of saying jokes about communism or Ceausescu...still we all enjoyed them a lot..  long hours of TV garbage on Ceausescu's "big achievements" in his "golden era"... long and manipulated "communist party meetings" full of lies ... lack of liberty of speech or movement... impossibility to travel abroad... horrible prisons for intelectuals and open speakers against Ceausescu ... daily evening hours without any light in houses ... unfair egalitarian salary level for professionals and studpids that were "licking" the communist "paws" ... unfair treatment of competent people ...long list of cruel memories. \n\nI am so happy the Romanian & international history together threw away the European red plague ...\n\nWe want to remember it for not repeating it !
603553
If the Soviet Union were the only remaining superpower, the world would be a living hell.\n\nThe problem with the Communist system is that it perverts man's true nature.  The Communists said they had a noble ideal, that they were creating a selfless man, so that everything would be shared, everyone could live as equals, and poverty would be eliminated.\n\nHowever, Communism only creates poverty for everyone. People generally despised their jobs because they knew that putting forth more effort would give them and their families nothing in return.\n\nTwo common refrains were:\n\n1)  They pretend to pay me, and I pretend to work.\n2)  If you don't steal from the State, you are stealing from your family.\n\nCommunism was just another word for slavery.  You had the top Communist bosses who enjoyed luxuries forbidden to the masses.  The State told you where you could live, and what kind of job you could perform.  You had no voice.\n\nIf the old, Communist Soviet Union were in charge of the world, everyone would blame their problems on them, but not openly, or they'd have tanks running through their streets like 1968 Czechoslovakia.\n\nIf the old, Communist Soviet Union were in charge the world would be more backward, unstable, and poorer.\n\nIf you want to see the true evil face of Communism, rent this movie in the Foreign Films section of your local rental store:  "Dark Blue World" (Tvamomodry Svet).  You will see the absolutely vile nature of Communism.  The movie recounts how Czech pilots fled to England to join the fight against the Nazis.  After the war, the Communists occupiers sent these heroes to prison because they feared  these men had been to exposed to Western ideas about democracy and freedom.
681367
Communism is a political ideology that seeks to establish a future classless, stateless social organization based upon common ownership of the means of production. It can be classified as a branch of the broader socialist movement. Communism also refers to a variety of political movements which claim the establishment of such a social organization as their ultimate goal.\n\nAmerica is scared becuase golbally capitalism is on the decline and they see Latin america becoming more and more close to Communist values.
487189
One of the communist party's objectives in the middle 1960's was to infiltrate the American education system.  If you ask me they have succeeded.  Our education system is full of socialists and communist apologists.  They try to brainwash you by making you feel inferior if you challenge their ideas.  Unfortunately, many young Americans fall for their hogwash and carry those ideas on into maturity.  Thankfully, experience drives intelligent people towards the conservative perspective.  You know what they say, "if you are not a liberal when you are young then you have no heart and if you are not a conservative when you are old then you have no brain".
1005166
Probably because the rest of the world saw the USSR as a major threat to their way of lives and the US as protectors.  It's ironic that we are now percieved as the major threat to their way of lives.