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Show Souoev aggression is greavesv peace ihreav By Jim Hansen U.S. Congressman (Ut-R) The most disturbing revelation emerging emerg-ing out of the current debate over the nuclear freeze is the dismal fact that millions of Americans fail to remember the nature of the totalitarian Soviet system and how it differs from the basic tenets of the U.S. Constitution and the system which rests upon that Constitution. Constitu-tion. Hundreds of years of history are forgotten, and suddenly, in the minds of many, the Reagan Administration and the Andropov Politburo share equal blame for the world's present danger. For example, the pronuclear freeze supporters assert that the greatest threat to world peace is a nuclear war between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. I believe, however that the greatest threat to peace and freedom in the world today is Soviet aggression. The threat of nuclear war arises only because of Soviet expansion toward their avowed goal of world dominance expansion which has always been achieved through violence and intimidation. Many argue that talk of Soviet world domination and charges by President Reagan that the Soviets "are the focus of evil in the modern world" are dangerous "Cold War rhetoric. "We have to live in the same world with the Soviets," the argument goes, "so let's tone down the rhetoric and face the truth. And then, hopefully, we can work something out." The truth, however, is that the Soviet Union remains one of the most totalitarian and oppressive governments govern-ments in the world's history. We must not forget that the Soviet leaders have killed more of their own people than any nation in the history of the world. Adolph Hitler sent six million Jews to their deaths, and we have no trouble believing that National Socialism was evil. Why, then, do so many Americans stubbornly refuse to admit that the Soviet system, which has killed millions more than the Nazis, is just as dangerous and responsible as Hitler's regime? Why have we forgotten that rulers will always abuse their powers unless those powers are restrained? Why have so many Americans forgotten the greatest lesson our Founding Fathers sought to teach us? Those Founding Fathers understood well the weakness of human nature and the corrosive effects on men of unrestrained power. They had learned by sad experience and observation that government power will be abused unless it is restrained. As a result, they drafted an inspired U.S. Constitution to protect against the centralization and abuse of State power. With an elaborate network of checks and balances, the founders created a system which, for the first time in history, protected simultaneously religious, economic and political freedoms from State abuse. Those supporters of the nuclear freeze movement who focus their criticisms for the arms race chiefly on President Reagan a leader whose power is limited by constitutional restraints, by public opinion and by Judeo Christian principles have forgotten somehow the differences between the U.S. and Soviet systems. They fail to remember the truths set forth by the Founding Fathers and reiterated by Lord Acton in his famous warning that "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Wherever power is absolute, or nearly near-ly as absolute as it is in the Soviet Union, it should not be difficult to imagine power will be abused severely. Yet, a large number of nuclear freeze supporters focus their fears and condemnation on President Reagan while almost totally ignoring the rulers in the Kremlin. Far too many of our citizens believe that the U.S. deserves almost as much blame for the arms race as does the Soviet Union. They argue that the U.S., in many instances, has forced the Soviets into an arms race. "The Russian people have seen the horrors of war," they assert, "and they don't really want to build all those weapons of destruction." It is certainly beyond doubt that the Russian Rus-sian people don't want war, but the important im-portant fact many people overlook is that the people don't govern in the Soviet Union. Public opinion is not a factor in Soviet politics. Tragically, far too many Americans do not realize just how blessed we are to live under a Constitution which protects our liberty and freedom. Most Americans have come to believe that freedom and liberty have been the rule throughout . history and not the exception. The truth is that only a small fraction of the earth's population from the beginning of time has not lived under authoritarian and totalitarian governments. Our system is a miraculous exception in the course of human events. In addition, we must realize that, throughout all history, authoritarian and totalitarian systems have waged war. Not once, however, in the history has a democracy such as the U.S. initiated war against another democracy. The best way to promote world peace is to promote pro-mote democracy. We must not forget that the Soviets have no traditions of peace. They have no magnificent Constitution to restrain the power of the State. The people do not rule in the Soviet Union. A small group of men with total power rule: If Americans think they can, in any degree, trust this small clique in the Kremlin, they are terribly naive and woefully misinformed. The American people must not blink as the Soviet bear tries to intimidate them. We must not heed the siren song of those who preach security by acquiescence and appeasement. We must beware of the Neville Chamberlains of the world who would pay almost any price for peace. There is a price to be paid for freedom and a great burden to be borne. Freedom is not cheap, but deterrence is cheaper than war. As columnist Michael Novak recently stated in a Time magazine article on the nuclear freeze, "To deter nuclear disaster and the spread of totalitarian power is not a form of cheap grace. It demands of us extremes of self-discipline and self-sacrifice." Americans cannot wish the nature of the Soviet system away. If we are to survive in this world, we must understand the truth about the nature of the Soviet Union and the real possibilities of peace on earth or peace with the Soviets. |