Comrades! I would be remiss if I were to never acknowledge my own failings, both large and small, my long tenure as a journalist has seen me crawl through the muck and back. Although I often attempted to keep my integrity as a journalist, and as a socialist, my failures have mounted over the years to a point where I wonder what impact I have left on this world. Now provably false, although I may no longer hold these beliefs, did I lead any of you readers down a path contrary to what we have fought for? Have I myself been at least a contributor to a fall of productivity and faith in the party? I would like to take this time to dissect some of my wrongdoings, and what I now believe are the true answers.
I’d like to discuss my most recent coverage at the backend of the Great Famine, during the meet of seven thousand. I placed far too much faith in the likes of Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping, both of whom have time and time again espoused and enacted policies contrary to the idea of a Socialist China, working for the benefit of the Chinese people. We now know that Mao had not stepped aside for who he saw as good men, no, he was pushed out by these revisionists! Thinking of the progress lost by this grabbag for power by those more interested in their own advancement, it’s horrifying. Chairman Ma has previously discussed the consequences of allowing counter-revolutionaries to have their way, even to say their piece:
“If, in the absence of these movements the…. counter-revolutionaries bad elements and monsters were allowed to crawl out while our cadres were to shut their eyes to all this and in many cases fail even to differentiate between the enemy and ourselves but were to collaborate with the enemy and were corrupted, divided and demoralized by him, if our cadres were thus pulled out or the enemy was able to sneak in, and if many of our workers, peasants, and intellectuals were left defenseless against both the soft and the hard tactics of the enemy, then it would not take long, perhaps only several years or a decade, or several decades at most, before a counter-revolutionary restoration on a national scale inevitably occurred, the Marxist-Leninist party would undoubtedly become a revisionist party or a fascist party, and the hole of China would change its color.” (LRB 25-26)
My other major failing, as I have seen it, is from long ago, back during the Jiangxi Soviet, when I tempered my view of the Chairman heavily. I discussed what I viewed to be “authoritarian tendencies” the words coming from a man jealous of the prowess he saw before him no doubt. Mao has proved this claim to be wrong time and time again, showing that he forwards the movement of the people first and foremost, and will refuse to rest even when the going gets tough. A true leader, who we all aspire to be, he no doubt has power over many people. But would I say he uses that power to control the lives of the many for some power fantasy? Absolutely not!
Just as it is important to listen to the wise words of the party is just as important to check your thoughts and actions, both recent and in the past. Have you evolved past any previous misgivings? If you worked actively against the interests of the Chinese people have you worked towards rectifying that mistake, whether it be through labor or acknowledgment to your peers, working forward with renewed vigor? It is important we check in on one another, correcting mistakes when possible and working together towards the Chairman’s vision of our future, a bright future in a socialist paradise. Work and hardship are the only way to accomplish our goals, are you willing to commit fully, and without any reservation to the cause?
I like how you brought Liu and Deng into your criticism. It is almost like you are blaming them, and not yourself because of it. I wonder if that would have worked during the real cultural revolution.