Witness

I read the book “Witness” by Whittaker Chambers many months ago, or rather listened to it as an audio book. It is quite interesting to read, even though it is fairly lengthy. I think the audio book helped me make it through some of the less interesting parts, and kept me looking forward to the key sections of the book.

Chambers makes many insightful observations, and the whole book is worth reading.

However, the Forward by itself is well worth taking the time to read, and I’d encourage you to find just that section and read it carefully. There are a few versions on the Internet in various conditions of correctness. (Most seem to have been scanned and converted to text, though not without problems.)

Chambers was involved with Communist spying, etc., in the U.S. in the 1930s through sometime in the 1950s. The Alger Hiss trial had Chambers as a key witness. Another key player in the Hiss case was Richard Nixon, as a lawyer and senator from California. Nixon came to believe that Chambers was telling the truth, and supported Chambers’ claims.

In college, some number of years back, I met Alger Hiss, or at least stood 10 or so feet away and listened to him defend himself. I didn’t know much about Hiss then, and for a naive guy from Wyoming, he presented and carried himself very well, was tall and distinguished looking, spoke well and convincingly, and truly seemed a gentleman who would make a nice neighbor. I wonder whether he had been covering himself for so long that maybe he did believe most of what he claimed.

The physical contrast between the tall and slender Hiss, and the shorter and “stockier” Chambers could be compared with Mutt & Jeff or Abbott &Costello. In that comparison alone, Chambers had the uphill battle for acceptance. Chambers was not as polished as Hiss was outwardly, although he was more than a match otherwise.

Chambers eventually realized that Communism isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, and he broke from the party, and became a voice for freedom. His book tells his account of growing up and moving into communism, then discovering what was really going on and breaking from the party. The book’s title should be interpreted in more than one way.

Chambers moved his family to the countryside of Connecticut for safety reasons. He also suffered in various ways because of leaving communism, and trying to convince people personally and legally about what had happened.

Communism sometimes sounds great, but like a lot of other “isms” that try to direct people’s lives, it misses a key point of the human condition. Humans are sinners, and communism is unable to handle that. The people at the top, as well as at the bottom, are sinners. The leaders in communism are well off, and the bulk of society is treated very poorly. It isn’t a matter of how well communism is implemented, it just won’t work without taking our sinful condition into account. No system of government or commerce is perfect, but some have a better foundation and goal than others.

Anyway, please read the Forward. Substitute “Humanism” or “Humanistic Materialism” for “Communism”, and “Christianity” for “democracy” (and similar terms), and you’ll find a terrific commentary about the struggle that non-believers are making against Christianity. Of couse, they’ll lose against Christianity, just as Communists will lose against a free and open society.

The Forward is thought provoking, and I belive you’ll benefit in some way.