Opinion

Point finger at Communism, not religion

Posted October 01, 2014 5:01 am

In a recent letter to the editor, the writer claims "religious divergence ... has resulted in more deaths and devastation in recorded history than all other causes of life-ending warfare and conflict." He goes on to suggest, "Isn't it time to give secularism a chance?"

While not advocating for religion, I challenge the notion that religion has resulted more deaths than all other causes. Arguably, the godless governments of Communism have killed far more dissenters than all of the Crusades, witch trials, and inquisitions, combined. Mao Zedong is credited with killing 45 million to 58 million; Josef Stalin is credited with 10 million to 30 million; Pol Pot is credited with 2 million to 3 million; Kim Il Sung is almost at two million.

Lord Action observed that power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Philosophy is not an answer; checks and balances are.

Lou Eisenberg

Buffalo Grove

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