From page 43 of The House of Government:
"'Strange as it may sound," writes Kon, 'the years I spent in prison were
the best years of my life. I did a lot of studying, tested my strength in a
long and bitter struggle, and, in constant interaction with other prisoners
. . . It was in prison that I learned how to judge my own life and the lives
of others from the point of view of the good of the cause.' Osinsky and
Bukharin cemented their friendship when they lived 'in perfect harmony' in
the same prison cell, and Platon Kerzhentsev, who had defeated Osinsky in
the high school debate on the Decembrists, 'studied thoroughly . . . the
literature of both Marxism and populism and left prison - the best
university of [his] life - as a Bolshevik.' Iosif Tarshis's (Osip
Piatnitsky's) time in prison was 'a university' because he 'studied
systematically under the guidance of a comrade who knew Marxist
revolutionary literature . . ."
Years later in 1959, in the midst of the Cold War, I graduated from college
and went to work in engineering at Douglas Aircraft Company. Alex D., a
longshoreman and classmate took to coming to my house regularly hoping to
convert me to Communism - sort of. He wasn't very forceful or sure of
himself, but he had been influenced by a very intelligent, forceful older
longshoreman (whom I never met) and believed what he said. He presented
arguments to me and books to read, he told me, to get my opinion on what his
Longshoreman mentor was teaching him. In reality I suspect he was hoping to
sway me to the Communist position. I knew very little about Communist
ideology when Alex's visits began, but I took the opportunity to read all
his materials and hear the arguments (second hand) of his longshoreman
mentor. When I would criticize a particular book and give it back to him,
he would always have another handy. This was my education, but the effect
wasn't what Alex (and perhaps his mentor) hoped it would be. Alex was never
very good at debate and he several times wanted me to debate his mentor. I
was willing, but the mentor was not. I don't know why.
Alex didn't realize that I had honed my debating skills on my mother who was
a follower of the millenialist, Herbert W. Armstrong of the World Wide
Church of God. Just like Alex later on, she would become flustered and take
my arguments to one of the church elders. She also tried to get one of
these elders to "convince me of the truth" (I think is the way she put it).
Lawrence
