Contributed by Bill Fikes
Socialism... it has become the latest "Ooo, be scared!" buzzword of the Conservative mindset (I use the term mind in the broadest sense, mind you). Even the President of the United States, in his State of the Union diatribe, er, address, stated that "America will not become a Socialist country!", Well, I have something to say that might horrify some of you... we already are.
I know most Conservatives like to say how much they support our Military and Veterans (as a 10 year US Army Veteran I thank you for your support.) but how many of them understand that the Military is a program funded by the collective taxation of the populace, and decidedly Socialist? How many understand the publicly funded Police, firefighters, public libraries, public schools, government college grants, scholarships, and loans, every public road in the country, Sewage treatment, EPA, FDA, FCC, FEMA, USDA, America's National Parks, Park Rangers, Airport Security, the TSA, Boarder Patrol, OSHA, federal and state unemployment, NASA, Emergency Alert Systems, Public Broadcasting, the US Mail and last but certainly not the least the World Wide Web?
The US is a Representative Democratic Republic with decidedly Socialist underpinnings provided by either the Federal or State Governments or by the citizenry. Have you ever volunteered for public service or donated a book to the library? welcome to Socialism, embrace it. Do you have a Social Security Card? Congratulations, you are an actual "Card Carrying Socialist.”
When I was a child, I can clearly remember the "Red Scare" that seemed to permeate society. the Commies were going to drop bombs on me, while I cowered under my desk with Yertle the Turtle. "the Commies" were a great place to focus the hate that had formerly been directed at "the King", then the "Indians", then in no particular order, the "Mexicans", "Huns", "Japs", "Blacks", "Hippies", "Draft Dodgers", "Liberals"... any one of these epithets could be spat out like sour milk with the intended effect of reducing them to something to be disdained, eradicated.
As we grow ever so slowly as a species, the reasons for hating others of our own kind become ever more transparent, and therein lies the danger to a Capitalist driven society, that must have someone to hate; to drive the sales of weapons to kill them with. "The only good Indians I ever saw were dead." is no longer acceptable speech, and certainly not by a 4 Star US army General. We no longer stand in line to sign up to go kill Germans, Italians or Japanese. Even killing Arabs seems to be falling out of favor recently. So, we (and by "we" I mean the Military-Industrial Complex that controls "us") need a new enemy. We need not look very far to see who is next in line.
Many Americans would gladly stand in line at Walmart to buy guns and ammunition if it meant that they could go out and kill a Socialist to defend the Republic. Tune in any AM radio Station that is not playing Christian music and you will be sure to hear someone crying over the socialist plague sweeping America. Hate is being brewed, strong and black as the heart of a cold winters’ night. Hate for one’s own fellow citizens. If you can't hear the drums of war, I can only imagine, and hope, that you’re listening to a different drummer.
The next time you decide to have a discussion about politics with someone, try and avoid using the descriptions: Republican, Democrat, Socialist, Liberal, Conservative... try just having a discussion concerning the facts, discuss the issues that you can have some actual effect in changing without casting hate toward this group or that one. If we are a country where the people hold the power over the government, then we must take that power and end the divide that has been engineered to assure we never come together as one.
Let that Liberal neighbor smoke his Joint while you enjoy your Jack and Coke. I can assure you he will be more intent on finding a bag of Doritos then on coming over and taking your guns. And lighten up on the Socialist crap, it just makes you sound uninformed. And if you’re still convinced that Socialism is a bad thing, disconnect your computer from the decidedly socialist World Wide Web. It's the only proper thing to do.
- Bill Fikes
Meadow Lakes, AK
