Fabric designed by Vivienne Tam

Walking up to this furniture  showroom at the High Point Furniture Market,  I was aghast and disappointed at their featured piece.  Why was it they were featuring Chairman Mao?  He was the worst mass murderer of the 20^th century.  Over 30 million Chinese perished in a grain shortage brought on by insanely irresponsible dictates of Chairman Mao.  Another 30 million were estimated to have died in prisons and labor camps during Chairman Mao’s rule.  There are documented cases of hunger so intense as to cause inmates to eat human flesh. (Source: “Women from Shanghai” by Xainhui Yang)

 The fabric and furniture designer, Vivienne Tam, called Mao a “fashion czar” because he forced everyone in the country, over 1 billion people, to wear the shapeless, drab-colored “Mao-Suit”.  I do not understand Ms. Tam’s fascination with Chairman Mao; her own family fled China to escape Mao’s rule.  I doubt this furniture company would have considered featuring a fabric with Hitler on it.  This would have been  just as hideous!

This acceptance and even honor of such appalling and heinous crimes is most disturbing.  We read in the news how our government leaders revere Chairman Mao.  But do they really know:

1. Mao became a Communist at the age of 27 for purely pragmatic reasons: a job and income from the Russians.

2. After he conquered China, Mao’s over-riding goal was to become a superpower and dominate the world: “Control the Earth,” as he put it.

3. Mao caused the greatest famine in history by exporting food to Russia to buy nuclear and arms industries: 38 million people were starved and slave-driven to death in 1958-61. Mao knew exactly what was happening, saying: “half of China may well have to die.” (Mao, The Unknown Story)

Anything sound familiar?  So that   history does not repeat itself we must continually learn the lessons of history.  Pass it on.

My Favorite part of the Recess Rally!

Freedom of speech at work! (Image from NewsOK & links to their story.)

Being at one of these events is always exciting to me.  It makes me feel good!  I love the patriotic music , helping set up and walking around the Capitol grounds meeting people.  But my favorite part today was when I noticed a man standing with a sign that said “It’s just an option”  – referring to Obamacare- that it is not, in this man’s opinion- forced as we were saying.  He was about the only dissent in the group.  Several people went up to him and were forcefully stating their opinion back.  After awhile they seperated and the man was still there with his sign – which in my view was a lie.  But you know what, it was that man’s right to be there and express his thoughts just like it was our right.  Several of our speakers reminded us of that, too.  Tony, from the UK said he did not even realize the rights he did not have in the UK, until he came to the USA and experienced these freedoms.   Cindy, the veteran, reminded us we have been incrementally losing our freedoms for years.  Stuart, another veteran, also said if we do not  understand our rights and exercise them, we will lose them forever.  Then another man in the crowd today exercised his right of free speech.  He went to the sign- in table and got a magic marker and poster and made a new sign.  He took his sign and went and stood by the first man.  And the new sign said” It won’t be an option for long!”   That is what  the USA is all about, opposing views standing beside each other exercising the right of free speech! We must continue to exercise our Constitutional rights or lose them forever!