Online Public Relations Thoughts

Taking off for four days is disorienting. I need to find a way back into work and the blog. One benefit of the time off was reading. I'm finishing a biography of Stalin before he came to power called "Young Stalin." It traces the devious evil and vengeance of the man through the years that he built the Bolshevik party with Lenin until it took over Russia. Stalin was the pinnacle of a person for whom "the end justified the means." He engaged in murder, robbery, shakedowns. blackmail, anything that helped him gather money and control people. He was an affable person to his friends and deeply frightening to everyone else. Later, of course, he turned against many of his friends as well because he was riven with paranoia. He sent millions of innocents to death along with a few guilty of conspiring against him.

Stalin's history proves a need for transparency in society. Stalin worked best out of sight where he could plot and maneuver against others. He perfected this craft after years of being on the run. He depended on secrecy to get his foul work done.

I would like to think that a person like Stalin could not gain power in the US or survive in power for long. But, anything is possible. The book is a reminder that sociopaths can seize power and when they do, they are among the most destructive forces known to man.