I Thought It Was Me....

I happened to catch a review of new book about Mao written by Nicholas D. Kristof in yesterday's The New York Times, abook titled, Mao-The Real Mao by Jung Chang. This in itself is interesting in that it's probably the only modern book on Mao that depicts the atrocities he committed in great detail, unlike previous books about him.

What caught MY eye, however, was the following excerpt:

"...I have reservations about the book's judgments, for my own sense is that Mao, however monstrous, also brought useful changes to China. And at times the authors seem so eager to destroy him that I wonder if they exclude exculpatory evidence. But more on those cavils later.

"Mao is not only a historical figure, of course, but is part of the (tattered) web of legitimacy on which the People's Republic rests. He is part of the founding mythology of the Chinese government, the Romulus and Remus of 'People's China,' and that's why his portrait hangs in Tiananmen Square. Even among ordinary Chinese, Mao retains a hold on the popular imagination, and some peasants in different parts of China have started traditional religious shrines honoring him. That's the ultimate honor for an atheist - he has become a god. "

WTF? At first, I thought it was me but I found this observation a tad heartless. HELLO! Here is a man who tortured and killed millions of people but that was OK because he "brought useful changes to China."

I'm sure that I'm not the only person who winced upon reading these words. In fact, I know at least one other person who did: conservative talk show host Michael Savage. He was just as outraged as I, if not more so. He suggested substituting the name Hitler for Mao and Germany for China in the review. Its comparable to something like "Josef Stalin was a terrible human being but he got the trains to run on time." Scary.

I am anxious to see if any letters to the editor get published in the Times about this. Will keep you posted...stay tuned.