There has been a lot of talk about how Obama is a socialist....I have a couple things to say about this.
First of all, he is not a socialist, really. Just ask the Socialist Party's Presidential Candidate (as seen on the Colbert Report.
Not that I think you should educate yourself solely on Comedy Central...this is about as much explanation I think Sarah Palin has had. Obama is a liberal, no doubt.
Secondly, what is so wrong with socialism? Do you even know what it is? Like so much in our culture, we talk about things we know nothing about. Socialism, overall, is a collectivist idea that attempts to strength the society as a whole through equal distribution. Collectivism is a great thing! Imagine...a society that takes care of each citizen regardless of race, religion, wealth, gender...a society that works towards a common good...a productive, healthy, and powerful society.
So why should rich people pay for services for poor people? Because its a nice thing to do and the best thing to keep a society successful as a whole.
But the US isn't like this...we were founded on individualism and competition. Mine, mine, mine!And look what has happened? The divide between rich and poor has grown to a destructive divide. Economically, our society is in a frightening place. Health-wise, we are in a sickening spiral. Educationally, we are barely keeping afloat.
When the Republicans laugh at the thought of socialist ideals and redistribution of resources, I am sickened. For me, they are saying...who cares about those who need help and support...and that 'who' is me and my family.
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4 comments:
I agree with you that there is this "fear" of socialism without really understanding what it means. The thing that would make me nervous about it is that gov't. would be getting more money and can we really trust how they would choose to distribute it? A lot of change would have to happen before I would feel comfortable about that. Also, if everyone gave 10% to help others, it seems like that would be more than enough to take care of everyone else. I like being able to decide what are worthy causes to help myself, rather than gov't deciding where my $ will go. Just some thoughts I've had...
But I really agree with you! Everything in our country feels "sick" and we need to take care of eachother and not be so selfish with our own resources.
Also, my dad and I were having this same conversation about socialism and he was saying one down side to it and taxing the wealthy is that the risk is no one will want to become wealthy. There will be no drive to succeed and small businesses will really be hurt.
So, again, I'm not against our country becoming more socialist in nature (especially with health care), I'm just trying to understand all sides.
I think trusting in your government is the most important goal. And, right now, I would not hand a penny over to the government right now.
I also think that a good society should be use an intergrated approach...using the best parts of several ideals. Obviously, a strict, one-sided government doesn't work.
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2008/11/03/081103taco_talk_hertzberg
good read.
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