Daniel Pipes
Mobile Edition
Regular Site

Ignoring The Obvious
Reader comment on item: Lee Harvey Oswald's Malign Legacy

Submitted by Seamus MacNemi (United States), Nov 25, 2007 at 18:42

There is little that amazes me in any of this. For as long as I can remember It seems that Americans have been peculiarly adept at self deception. By some strange twist of logic they managed to convince themselves that the defeat of Hitler's Third Reich was the defeat of Nazisism and then proceeded blindly to allow the cancer to metasticise and to grow here in America under the ruberic of freedom of speech. Little if any effort was made to bring the majority of Nazis to justice and they were allowed to thrive in Central and South America and in the Middle and Far East.

Both the Soviet Union and the western powers employed known former Nazis in their intelligence services and both relied heavily upon the picture that was painted by these supposed intelligence assets. Neither side was capable of recognizing the fact that they were both being played for fools by their supposedly defeated foe. Stalins paranoia in particular made the Soviets peculiarly succeptable to the ruse. The times were a gold mine for weavers of horrific fantasy.

That and the fact that our leaders were largely a lot of mindless idealogues who had no practical vision for the future. It was always easier to go around muttering slogans than it was to formulate any real practical solution to our problems. The arguements of Communism versus Capitalism could have been easily resolved by the application of some very simple logic. But few people at that time were thinking logically.

Oswald was largely a product of the times. He was an insignificant little nobody who desperately wanted to be somebody at least in his own eyes. He would have latched onto any cause that seemed to justify his meger existance. He could have been a David Koresh or Charles Manson just as easily as a Lee Harvey Oswald.


Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.

Submit a comment on this item

Search by Enter name or date
Search Forum Comments:

Reader comments (40) on this item

Title By Date
he killed him for money case closed (revised) [305 words]adel elkabanySep 17, 2008 08:02
Not just JFK, but also MLK and Bobby K. [267 words]DrRJPDec 18, 2007 13:24
Idealism Is The Psychosis of Morons [81 words]WinghunterSep 20, 2009 14:44
Oh Good Grief [99 words]JonDec 14, 2007 12:28
Another post Kennedy assassinations observation [548 words]HomefrontDec 13, 2007 07:42
Oswald was a member of the pilgrim left [239 words]Peter HerzDec 7, 2007 09:14
Oswald Killed Kennedy? [10 words]ploniDec 5, 2007 11:30
Two sides of the same coin [442 words]SheerahkahnNov 26, 2007 18:59
why did Oswald kill Kennedy [68 words]Robert L. FreedmanNov 26, 2007 12:47
Why Oswald killed Kennedy [109 words]Peter KauffnerDec 2, 2007 10:41
⇒ Ignoring The Obvious [310 words]Seamus MacNemiNov 25, 2007 18:42
Vietnam not Oswald [171 words]Lars NielsenNov 25, 2007 12:23
Death of President Kennedy Emblematic of Those Times-But Points to Greater Tragic Legacy [936 words]M. ToveyNov 26, 2007 15:09
Vietnam Just Fuel, Not Fire [488 words]Michael USA, Viet VetDec 5, 2007 21:34
Reply to Michael USA [233 words]Lars NielsenDec 21, 2007 06:03
Nature vs. Nurture and a desire for votes [369 words]jennifer solisNov 23, 2007 23:10
The Book's Premise is Wrong - the Left has always been anti-American [619 words]Steve RogersNov 23, 2007 17:26
The Legacy of Abraham Zapruder & Creation of Suicidal Liberalism [527 words]James Burke,( Canada), CPA (Illinois),Nov 23, 2007 08:46
Disagree With "Oswald's Malign Legacy Hypothesis" [155 words]Peter StevensNov 22, 2007 23:13
Also Explains the Mechanism of Denial: "Sixteen Other Assassins..." [94 words]KarridineNov 22, 2007 19:41
The Dead Kennedy's and Liberal regression [212 words]Luta RD BelcherNov 22, 2007 15:04
Oswald's Malign Legacy [113 words]Tom QuiganNov 22, 2007 14:09
tunnel vision [116 words]David W. LincolnNov 22, 2007 10:43
Oswald's malign legacy? [270 words]Leon Van DykeNov 22, 2007 09:02
"Liberal" today means illiberal [195 words]Ian CampbellNov 22, 2007 07:30
This is line of reasoning is certainly thought provoking [652 words]Ken BesigNov 22, 2007 04:26
With my own eyes [304 words]zari namdarNov 22, 2007 04:14
An interesting perspective [130 words]jennifer solisNov 23, 2007 23:50
I'll Sign On With That [18 words]Seamus MacNemiNov 26, 2007 07:10
He's a She [33 words]jennifer solisNov 26, 2007 20:29
Nexus not in Kennedy Assasination [353 words]Stan KreisNov 22, 2007 01:43
Oswald [108 words]Gunther H. SchiffNov 21, 2007 23:54
US Treasury notes [167 words]meaNov 21, 2007 22:47
The Men Who Knew Too Much [268 words]Rebecca MouldsNov 21, 2007 22:38
Liberals are cultural marxists [61 words]RodgerNov 21, 2007 22:31
Lee Harvey Oswald [132 words]Dannel R. BallesterosNov 21, 2007 21:45
simplistic [306 words]John W. McGinleyNov 21, 2007 21:10
National Self-Hatred [186 words]Paul EidelbergNov 21, 2007 20:53
A clear, concise and very true article... [475 words]AyashaNov 21, 2007 20:23
Liberal Drivel and Capitalist Clap Trap [200 words]Seamus MacNemiNov 25, 2007 20:38

Comment on this item

Name
Email Address (optional)
Title of Comments
Comments:

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.

See the 25 most recent outstanding comments.

Back to top of page