Dennis Prager is upset. Recently Sylvia Bernstein, a civil rights activist and member of the Communist Party, died. No, I'm pretty sure Prager is not upset that a communist died. Instead he's upset that Ms. Bernstein was not denounced as a Communist.
According to Mr. Prager, the fact that she was a communist negates everything else positive she did in her life. Her membership in the Communist Party should cause her to share in the guilt of the thousands killed by Stalin.
It's striking how simplistic this analysis is. A Communist is evil, and therefore, no matter what that Communists personal accomplishments or goals or connection to the party, he or she should be condemned. Personally I favor a more nuanced judgment than that, but that's because I'm a wishy-washy intellectual.
Plus you have to factor in that this is an obituary. Rightly or wrongly, you always try to find nice things about a person after they have died. Perhaps Mr. Prager doesn't think a Communist should receive that respect we generally give to our dead. I personally disagree.
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