Several weeks ago I got a phone call from an old family friend whom I last saw when I was... maybe 5 years old. I've no memory of him, but his family were next-door-neighbors when I was a child, and the brilliance of the 3 kids has been a continuing source of family stories forever (David - who called; Mike, now deceased; and Judy, whom I've met within past 20 years).
Anyway, it was in fact a very enjoyable phone conversation. David is the age of my older twin sisters - which puts him 9 years older than I. We chatted about Tulsa, about family, and about current events. He's a conservative Republican, and he put it to me point-blank: "So, you're a Socialist?"
... "YES!", I replied.
If "socialism" means that I want my government to protect me from the rampages of unbridled, predatory capitalists, then... YES! I'm a socialist!!!
I really DO wish that progressive types would take to using the 'socialist'/'socialism' label more frequently - if only to take the pejorative connotations out of the words.
No - what the GOP calls 'socialism' isn't... but as long as they're defining words to their liking, why not?
Again: if "socialism" means that I want my government to protect me from the rampages of unbridled, predatory capitalists, then... YES! I'm a socialist!!!
What's more: I want my elected leaders, and my candidates, to espouse this view - deliberately, forcefully, publicly.
We are - still, even after passage of so-called "health-care reform" - the ONLY developed country in the world without some form of universal health insurance.
Europe and Canada lead the way in REGULATION of financial institutions.
Our fear of the magic-word "socialism" keeps us from enacting common-sense laws to benefit "We the People of the United States".
In the meantime, the Republicans are quite happy to regulate our private lives - dictating which sex acts are or are not appropriate, denying us the right to kill ourselves with the drug of our choosing (except for alcohol - and Boehner seems to be quite happy that Prohibition was repealed!).
Stop the madness!
The FAFO Anthem Has Dropped
2 hours ago
Exactly. The drug thing is a perfect example.
ReplyDeleteMany Republicans are perfectly willing to keep drugs illegal. I just love hearing them try to explain how that doesn't violate their beloved free market principles.
Also, most serious Capitalists believe in open immigration to the U.S. The actions of Arizona in that area, which the Republicans support, may not be socialist, but they are distinctly anti-capitalist.
http://www.capitalismmagazine.com/politics/immigration/5790-Illegal-Immigration-Americas-Cross-Bear.html
I become more convinced by the hour that all the "free market vs. socialism" talk the Republicans are spouting is really just a cover for something else.