Page:Meet the Communists (Flynn).djvu/12

 great cities, that a child can go hungry, should forfeit capitalism's right to continued existence.

Translate it into terms of your own life and experience. Are you satisfied?

Have you not asked: Is this the best of all possible worlds? Have you not wondered what you can do to help change these conditions? We are sure you have. Let us tell you what you can do.

MEET THE COMMUNISTS

"Do Communists all say the same things the world over?" you may ask.

Don't be taken in by that "voice of Moscow" stuff in the reactionary press. It's one world with the same hopes and dreams, heartaches, headaches, everywhere. One and one make two in any language. Chemistry, geography, art, music, sports are international. Women, youth, and trade unionists recently held international congresses to discuss their common problems.

Surely we can profit in America by the experiences of other countries. Must we go through fascism in America to realize the menace of fascism and the importance of fighting against it? Do we have to go through the actual physical agony and material destruction of fascist occupation, see our homes destroyed, our women raped, our Jewish-Americans and Catholic-Americans murdered because of their religion, our books burned, our labor unions smashed, our cities despoiled and our government become a puppet state? Do we have to go through this to realize that we need a powerful labor movement and a large and active Communist Party so that the people can say with assurance—"It will not happen here!"

Who are we—the Communists of America? We are Americans—native born and immigrants; we speak all languages; we are of all religions; of all colors; men and women; young and old. We are miners, steel, railroad, electrical, textile, office workers, trade unionists, farmers, veterans, professionals, housewives, students. We are a cross section of America—folks just like you. Communists are not hermits or highbrows—we like baseball, go to the movies, fish, work in the garden, relish a 12