better dead than red

See also: better dead than Red, and better Dead than Red

English

Proverb

better dead than red

1. (politics) It is preferable to be deceased than to be a Communist or ruled by Communists.
   • 1961 August 14, “Canon Causes Stir At Church Election”, in The Age, Australia, retrieved 30 October 2013, page 11:

     Canon Collins urged the electors to reject the candidate nominated by the Crown, Dr. R. W. Stopford, Bishop of Peterborough, who, he claimed, had said "it would be better to have nuclear war than to permit Communist domination over Britain." Canon Collins said: "I cannot believe it is proper for a bishop of the church to encourage the idea which is popularly expressed In the formula ‘better dead than red.’"

   • 1982 July 30, Mary McGrory, “Reagan View: El Salvador's slaughter better than communism”, in Spokane Chronicle, retrieved 30 October 2013, page 6:

     The recertification of El Salvador's progress on human rights is nothing but a basic restatement of the Reagan foreign policy, which is "better dead than Red."

   • 2007 December 20, Karen Fish, “Watch Hillary Clinton Vehemently Vow to Raise Taxes and Vote for War”, in San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center, retrieved 30 October 2013:

     In a country whose motto not long ago was “Better dead than Red”, it is ironic that today Time Magazine awarded Vladimir Putin the “Man of the Year Award”.

Alternative forms

• better dead than Red, better Dead than Red

Translations

anti-Communist slogan

• Dutch: liever dood dan rood, beter dood dan rood
• German: lieber tot als rot, besser tot als rot
• Norwegian: heller død enn rød, bedre død enn rød
• Swedish: hellre död än röd, bättre död än röd

See also

• give me liberty or give me death
• liberty or death

References

• “better dead than red”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Further reading

• better red than dead on Wikipedia.Wikipedia