https://padlet.com/dgaggiotti2022/68xr870iq18jm69j By Donovan Gaggiotti en-us 2022-05-10 18:18:09 UTC 2022-05-21 04:00:32 UTC hello@padlet.com dgaggiotti2022 https://padlet.com/dgaggiotti2022/68xr870iq18jm69j/wish/2181757987 George Orwell, author of Animal Farm, was born in June 25, 1903 and passed away on January 21, 1950 (aged 46). Orwell’s upbringing shaped him to his political ideology and writing. He was born in Bengal, into the class of sahibs. His father was a British Civil Servant who stayed in India, while his mother brought Orwell and his sister back to England. There, he attended a private school, where he sensed and saw elitism with the students. Those of lower class were treated inferiorly to those of higher class. However he was extremely talented in writing from an early age, which allowed him to receive two scholarships. After his studies, his personal experiences greatly shaped his writing. One of his earliest works, “The road to Wigan Pier”, recounts the experiences of his time in Spain during its Civil war. After having dealt with a severe injury while fighting, he left Spain with a hate for communism. In 1944 and 1949, he wrote two books which are the face ocommunist literature (other than the communist manifesto) , Nineteen Eighty-four (1949), and Animal Farm (1944). Both books highlight the dangers of communism and the regimes that came with it. He later died at a young age of 46, where he battled against Tuberculosis but lost and passed away in January of 1950.  

]]> 2022-05-12 18:29:54 UTC https://padlet.com/dgaggiotti2022/68xr870iq18jm69j/wish/2181757987 dgaggiotti2022 https://padlet.com/dgaggiotti2022/68xr870iq18jm69j/wish/2181759360 The Cold War represented a clash of conflicting and contradicting ideas and values, that to this day to some degree is still alive. Both countries despised each other for any aspect, however their economic and structural ideologies are what truly set them apart, Communism and Capitalism. Although it was the politicians and leaders of each country who were going to war against one another, American citizens were taught to hate anything remotely close to Communist beliefs and ideals. The main teacher of that culture was Joseph McCarthy from Appleton, Wisconsin. He worked as the Republican Senator of Wisconsin after his election victories in 1946 and 1952. As the Cold War raged in his political presence, he did everything in his power to make sure Communism did not spread to the United States. Thus, he started his infamous anti communist campaign of identifying any threat within the American borders. He made claims with no proof or reason, on anyone he thought had affiliations with communism, from fellow politicians to regular citizens. These untruthful accusations caused many people’s lives to be ruined, with results such as unemployment, social exile, and even imprisonment. However, on December 2nd, 1954, the senate voted to censure him in regards to his misbehavior. Although McCarthy was recognized to have broken rules of law, his propaganda truly affected people of today’s generation as well.  

]]> 2022-05-12 18:30:55 UTC https://padlet.com/dgaggiotti2022/68xr870iq18jm69j/wish/2181759360 dgaggiotti2022 https://padlet.com/dgaggiotti2022/68xr870iq18jm69j/wish/2188351407 "Socialism Kills" by David Welch, is a reminder of what the culture behind these left leaning ideas is. The author cites several communist regimes that obviously failed due to extremism. Regardless of the examples he cites, it is no news that weather in politics, books, television, newspapers, and even poetry, there will be at the very least, skepticism. I am not judging the author's view, I'm simply noting and highlighting the fear within the author. This fear has to have come from somewhere, and that somewhere is the American culture stemming from McCarthyism. ]]> 2022-05-17 21:32:40 UTC https://padlet.com/dgaggiotti2022/68xr870iq18jm69j/wish/2188351407 dgaggiotti2022 https://padlet.com/dgaggiotti2022/68xr870iq18jm69j/wish/2189620195 Most people will remember Italy for standing with Nazi Germany during WWII, however not all Italians held this fascist ideology. Italy's partisans, were a big reason for Mussolini and Fascist Italy's downfall. One of Italy's most iconic and symbolic piece of it's WWII history, is the song "Bella Ciao". Communism did play a role in this song becoming so popular, since the Italian Communist party lead the partisans to combat the Nazi and fascist forces. The song first originated from the "mondine", or "weeders", who were a group of female rice patty workers in Northern Italy. On April 25th of 1945, Italy celebrated it's liberation from the fascist state, and every year afterwards, Bella Ciao is sung in remembrance. Today, the song is still sang, by some. Unfortunately, the song is becoming less popular throughout Italy, since certain ignorant individuals will claim it's a "Communist" song. Although it may be true that it's origins come from people who were affiliated to Communism, it is highly ignorant to not celebrate this piece of Italian history. People must look at the bigger picture, which was that one of history's most evil time periods ended for a nation, and not at useless political affiliation. I happened to be born on April 25th, and for me and my Italian family we celebrate the song in recognition of the end of the terrible past that we overcame. Thus it saddens me to see some people disregard this piece of history for political ideology. ]]> 2022-05-18 14:38:46 UTC https://padlet.com/dgaggiotti2022/68xr870iq18jm69j/wish/2189620195 dgaggiotti2022 https://padlet.com/dgaggiotti2022/68xr870iq18jm69j/wish/2190402395 As almost 50 years have passed since the end of the Vietnam War, where the United States spent 20 years in a war that cost us around 47,000 American lives, and many hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese lives as well. The main goal of the United States government, was to enter Vietnam and overthrow the communist regime that was forming. However, to this day, Vietnam functions on it's Communist Party, which brings it's pros and cons. The country has one of the strongest economies in Southeast Asia, along as constitutionally protected rights like freedom of speech, expression, and opinion. However, there are also negatives. These rights are not put into practice very well, with many restrictions on these constitutional rights. Communism has impacted Vietnam differently than it has impacted the United States. The United States fear mongers anything to the point where it's citizens can't vote for their own interests because it's "Socialist". Meanwhile in Vietnam, they've disregarded the name their party holds. Although Vietnam has it's own very concerning issues at the political level, it can still can unite to create a general consensus to create a functioning country. ]]> 2022-05-19 01:21:17 UTC https://padlet.com/dgaggiotti2022/68xr870iq18jm69j/wish/2190402395 dgaggiotti2022 https://padlet.com/dgaggiotti2022/68xr870iq18jm69j/wish/2192389933 Art like talking, writing, and singing is a form of expression. During Mao's oppressive and ruthless dictatorship, something as basic as art was heavily regulated and controlled. Artists across China had to create art on behalf of what the Chinese government wanted. The Chinese government only allowed Soviet/Chinese social realism, an art style which would only depict the Party's political ideology. Jin Zhilin's "The People March Under the Banner of Chairman Mao” (1971) shows just how extreme the daily dictation of expression was. The picture depicts soldiers carrying a portrait of Mao above them, which symbolizes that Mao was more important above anything and anyone. Today China is still under control of the CCP or Chinese Communist Party, which dates back to 1949 when it was first in control. Although China has had a very brutal time with Communism, it has now kept it it's main form of government. However there are several issues that are fruit of this government that are not being resolved because of corruption. Like the limitations on art during Mao's dictatorship, today there is massive limitations on the internet which is a form of expression in today's era. ]]> 2022-05-20 03:47:09 UTC https://padlet.com/dgaggiotti2022/68xr870iq18jm69j/wish/2192389933 dgaggiotti2022 https://padlet.com/dgaggiotti2022/68xr870iq18jm69j/wish/2193689179 On February 21, 1848, the Communist Manifesto came to life, which was written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The more famous of the two is Karl Marx, who was the main author of the manifesto. In 1847, Marx and Engels decided to form the first Communist organization ever, the "Communist League". From there, the league decided to organize a manifesto, which gave the initial to the Communist Manifesto a year later in 1848. From then on communism has impacted the world of politics profoundly. Countries and leaders have been able to test and implement governments off this political philosophy. Although political ideology is an abstract and diverse way of thinking, communism is certainly a philosophy that lives on to this day. From the past, different experiences have brought different views throughout the world. In the United States, the majority cannot imagine a world with communists in it. In Europe, democratic countries have communist parties that get many votes, and actually implement laws. All around the world Communism has had an impact on daily life, and the philosophy of two men has forever changed the way billions of people look at politics. ]]> 2022-05-21 04:00:32 UTC https://padlet.com/dgaggiotti2022/68xr870iq18jm69j/wish/2193689179