Jan 19, 2004
U..S. POSTAL SERVICE HONORS A STALINIST
The U.S. Postal Service will issue a a special stamp honoring Paul Robeson . Robeson's son denies that his father was an actual member of the Communist Party. Perhaps. This is somewhat beside the point, however.
The historical record is crystal clear that Paul Robeson was an enthusiastic and zealous defender of a man who was, second to Mao, the greatest mass murderer of the twentieth century . He continued to defend Stalin long after convincing proof of his crimes became readily apparent.
When I first started to write this blog, I was going to condemn the decision to issue the stamp. On second thought, however, perhaps it makes sense for a lumbering and inefficient state monopoly like the U.S. Postal Service to honor a man who defended the creator of many similar lumbering and inefficient monpolies in his own country.