Communism's Ills on Display

Many Americans oblivious to communism's dangers

The launch of a new museum resulting from an Act of Congress could not be more timely. As the Victims of Communism Museum opens its doors this summer in Washington, DC, a survey of Americans shows that 30% of Generation Z and 27% of Millennials view Marxism favorably. The manager of the museum, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, or VOC, conducts the survey yearly.

The museum exhibits chronicle communism’s reliance on violence. Exterminations, torture, executions, starvation, forced labor camps and other forms of brutality are ever-present parts of the ideology. More than 100 million people have died at the hands of their own governments under communism. Yet the survey shows two-thirds of Americans don’t know the Chinese Communist Party is responsible for more deaths than Nazi Germany. Worldwide body counts are even worse: Communists have killed 10 times more people than Hitler and twice as many as World Wars I and II combined, explains VOC’s academic council member Paul Kengor, PhD.

Nevertheless, only 18% of polled participants answer correctly that Marxism is the deadliest ideology on the planet. Instead, record numbers of Americans are oblivious to communism’s dangers. “This represents a total failure of our education system, not just in schools but also a basic dishonesty in our media and popular culture,” says Marion Smith, executive director of VOC.

VOC’s museum and free public education programs provide opportunities for all Americans to get savvy. A brief online tour of the museum galleries is an enlightening place to start. For more information, go to vocmuseum.org. To learn more about the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation’s educational programs, go to victimsofcommunism.org.

A Critique of Rampant Anti-Americanism

A graduating senior at Harvard, Julie Hartman, Class of 2022, gave a courageous commencement speech. After she finished speaking at the Harvard Chapel, she received no applause or other signs of appreciation. The response to her speech was silence.

Despite the hostility at Harvard and other woke universities toward non-conforming voices, many Americans around the country are heartened by Ms. Hartman’s refreshing words. Listen to her speech in this 6-minute video to find inspiration, hope for the younger generation, and a renewed desire to help forge a better future for America.

The New York Times won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting that the sole purpose of the American Revolution was to preserve slavery. And we remain silent.

What examples of anti-Americanism have you noticed in your daily life? Share your observations with the 2026 Community.

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