Why the constant claims that Obama is a socialist? The real socialist party openly rejects him. Do those of you who accuse him of being a socialist even know what that is? The world socialism gets thrown around a lot as a knee-jerk reaction to most anything the Liberals propose that involves any form of tax payer dollars. Before you throw that phase out again, take the time to understand what you're saying, don't be convinced by politico soundbites on TV.
What may surprise you is that aspects of life in the US are already "socialized" - like education and the highway system. Do you object to allowing the government to use tax dollars to pave the roads you drive on? How about public education? [note: that does not mean it is perfect! Still, I'd rather let my tax dollars pave the roads than worry about selecting which roads I want to fund and only driving on them]
The proposed healthcare reform bill won't create a single payer (that being the government) system that provides universal healthcare to everyone. In short, the PPACA is NOT going to turn into healthcare system that Canada and Europe currently employ. A diabetic will not have her leg cut off because it is more cost-effective than treating her gout. I implore you to read up on the subject from an objective source. FOX News and the Huffington Post are examples of UNbiased sources.
Socialism has recently become a slur word, but it wasn't always that way. Great American presidents, from at least the time of Lincoln, have respected and engaged with socialists and social-democratic ideas. They have not always embraced those ideas. And even when they have borrowed from the socialist toolkit, the act of doing so did not make them socialists—any more than Jimmy Carter’s openness to drug law reform made him a libertarian or Obama’s intriguing with those who would begin the gutting of Medicare makes him a Barry Goldwater Republican. (http://www.thenation.com/blog/163585/note-gop-candidates-obamas-no-socialist)
A pure socialist system involves the government runinng the production of goods and services for direct use rather than profit. No more mark-ups, everyone has a home and money for free time, everyone is taken care of ... that sounds like many of the descriptions of heaven. There is no pure socialism, and America is not a true democracy either.
Let's all of us vow to stop seeking out exactly what we want to hear and then patting ourselves on the back for being so smart when we're agreed with. Don't regurgitate what you've heard in sound bites. If you're going to be passionate about an issue, research and understand both sides. Whatever side you wind up supporting, you will be forced to recognize the humanity of the other side, rather than painting them as a monster.
Socialism
1. any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2. a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property
b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3: a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/socialism
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ReplyDeleteResponse from my friend DJ who is still figuring out this new fangled technology stuff:
ReplyDelete"Until a few days ago, I was pro social programs. Now... I think I am swinging the other way. The people in this video, at the bottom of the website below, are the reason I think we should just let the republicans allow hospitals to deny care and end all welfare/healthcare programs.. The people in this video are never going to share democratic view, but will gladly reap the benefits once they are in place... so I say screw them and let them suffer and starve, and realize what politicians are really working for them."
http://www.huliq.com/10061/obama-muslim-say-deep-south-gopers-ahead-primaries
Socialism is fine as a theory, but not in practice. The downfall to the system is the people who are in the system. If everyone was willing to work hard and do their share of some sort of work...more people would be richer than in a pure capitalist economy.
ReplyDeleteI just wrote out a huge dissertation on how to implement this theory correctly, but computers failed me again...
DeleteSo I will paraphrase:
Socialism requires a universal evolution of human thought. This will occur over a very long period of time. This will not happen if people don't search for the change on their own. This will not happen if people don't look within themselves. This will not happen if we continue to focus on the liberal/conservative argument. We need to destroy such petty labels, for they are only a self-inflicted hindrance. Socialism does not require a government, although it can have one. Logic derivations show that the best practice of socialism is government free (sorry I don't have a proof of this, but you can find a good one on Google).
So...any questions?
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DeleteYes, socialism or (pure) communism would require a shift in the way we think. We have thousands of years of in-fighting and ensuring the survival of our families, our tribes, our countries at the cost of other families, tribes and countries to overcome.
ReplyDeleteI am doubtful enough people will ever evolve their thinking to a way that enables them to see that the better the least of our citizens do, the better everyone does. We are selfish people by nature and WAY too many people prefer anecdotal evidence to hard facts ("sure the statistics say the majority of people on Welfare and white and employed, but I KNOW that's wrong because I always see black people with the food stamp cards") <--- REAL conversation I had with someone.
My question ... who ARE you anonymous?