I know it sounds vaguely McCarthyite to call today’s Left-wingers communists, but the fact is that today’s Left-wingers are communists.

Actually, in the 1950s, there were lots of commies too. There were communist spies throughout our government–but McCarthy was spraying and praying, not identifying actual communists. He did more to undermine concern about real communists than any other single person, including anti-Americans.

McCarthy made being an anti-anti-Communist cool—bad move.

Well, I am a dyed-in-the-wool anti-Communist, and proud of it. And, unfortunately, there are a lot more communists in America these days than at any time since…ever. They are a very powerful force in our cultural institutions. For instance, the head of the American Library Association is an avowed Marxist who has pledged to turn America’s libraries into socialist training centers.

Jason Rantz of KTTH Radio, who is a great follow on Twitter, has a story from Washington State about just how far communism has seeped into our public schools.

EXCLUSIVE: A high school hosted a candlelight vigil that honored Fidel Castro, who students were told was “martyred while working on behalf of advancing civil rights, social justice and decolonization.”

You can’t make this up.

READ👇🏻 https://t.co/MxYJtPHO5f

— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) February 1, 2024

Characterizing Fidel Castro as a “martyr” is fascinating since he died at age 90 of apparently natural causes after a very long illness, but that is the least bizarre part of the celebration of Castro. Castro may have spoken quite a bit about social justice, but let’s just say that his definition of it differs not just from the traditional Western democratic notions of justice, but from the one that contemporary SJWs use.

Castro was not a big fan of the LGBTQ+ crowd for most of his time in office, and his administration was a big fan of imprisoning dissenters and in the early days mass executions of his opponents.

Hmm. Actually that fits today’s SJWs, I think.

In any case, here is what happened:

“Now we are continuing a tradition today to have a candlelight vigil to pay solemn tribute to a selection of the people who were martyred while working on behalf of advancing civil rights, social justice and decolonization,” the student presenter said, according to the assembly script. “This year we are selecting Black American civil rights leaders as well as leaders of developing nations who valiantly sought to liberate themselves from the shackles of Western imperialism, capitalism and a specter of war crimes.”

Castro was not “martyred.” He died a peaceful death from natural causes. Yet he appeared alongside Nelson Mandela and Emmett Till during the vigil. Students took turns reading a short description of the accomplishments of the others they said were “martyred” for fighting to decolonize or advance various social justice causes. Castro’s description was glowing.

The students were told that Castro was “a figure whose impact on Cuba and the world is undeniable.” While that’s true, it’s not for positive contributions. The script conveniently omits that Castro’s reign was marked by human rights abuses, mass murders, and political suppression. Instead, he was applauded because he “challenged imperialistic influences.”

“As the leader of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Castro aimed to uplift his people by overthrowing the Batista regime and ushering in a new era of social justice. His policies in healthcare and education significantly improved the standard of living for many Cubans, and his politics promoted antiracism,” the script said.

Blah blah blah. Cuba is a mess from which people flee on cobbled-together floating deathtraps, and if these kids had gotten a decent education, they would know that.

A simple field trip to Miami, which is filled with Cuban (and now Venezuelan refugees from socialism) would likely not open their eyes, unfortunately. They would undoubtedly explain in exasperated tones that “real communism hasn’t been tried yet” or some such idiocy.

It’s not the kids’ fault, of course, but the education system’s. And, to be honest, the legislators as well, since they have kept pouring trillions of dollars into an education system that is fundamentally broken.

One of the worst legacies of the “Red Scare” era is that people are not nearly afraid enough of communists, who really are destructive to our society. Crying “wolf” is one of the worst things you can do if you need credibility.

Because there are real wolves out there.