Ruminations on Socialism

I wrote this last year. It still rings very true.

This morning I read that the stock market has risen more during the Obama presidency than during any other. The piece I was reading went on to ask the question:
Does this make President Obama the worst Socialist ever? Considering how often our President is referred to as a radical Socialist Communist colonialist,
or something, it feels like a legitimate question. This further led me to reflect on the general concept of socialism, specifically people’s reactions
to it. Mostly, I hear socialism denigrated as right up there with full IRS audits and big zits predominantly placed in the middle of one’s face as outcomes
undesirable. But I have a question that might seem heretical to some, and possibly un-American to others: Is socialism really all that bad? As I understand
it, one of the main aims of socialism is to make sure everyone in society is taken care of. I have to ask, how is this a bad concept? Isn’t promoting the
general welfare right there in the preamble of the Constitution? Isn’t taking care of the least of us a Biblical concept? In fact, if you look at Acts
2:44-47 in the Bible, couldn’t that be considered socialistic? Really, at a basic level, who among us truly believes that anybody should be denied even
the basics of everyday life? Yet we keep having this societal argument about lazy moochers and “takers”. I’m very much in favor of individual charity,
but there needs to be something beyond that. There is absolutely no way that individual charities and churches can deal with the whole problem of poverty
themselves. This was starkly proven during the Depression, which is the whole reason why we have such things as Social Security, worker’s compensation,
and unemployment insurance today. And, as I said, isn’t promoting the general welfare right there in the Constitution? Wouldn’t that mean, then, that by
definition one of government’s functions is to make sure as few people fall through the cracks as possible? Otherwise, what does that phrase even mean?
The Second Amendment is parsed to death, over and over and over, and this phrase, which is just as much a part of the Constitution, is pretty much ignored.
And yet the blather about moochers and takers goes on. I acknowledge that I am coming at this from a different angle than many. Because of the nature of
my disability, I’m often put in the position to, in the words of a line from A Streetcar Named Desire, “rely on the kindness of strangers”. There is no
shame in needing help sometimes. In some way, we all do, whether we admit it or not. Nobody should ever feel like a lesser person if they have to take
advantage of certain government programs. Yet our society, thanks in large part to the rugged individualism narrative that has corroded the dialogue beyond
belief, are way too often looked down upon, derided, scorned. Nobody I know, or have ever known, at least to my knowledge, gets up in the morning and says
“gosh, what can I do today to become a greater drain on taxpayers?” I know such people probably exist, but I firmly believe they are the rare exception,
as opposed to the norm as portrayed in much of the media today. Some people I know work up to three jobs, sixteen to eighteen hours a day, to obtain even
the basics of life. This, to me, is not living, it’s surviving. All you’re doing is working, eating (probably not very well), and sleeping (again, probably
not very well). On the flip side, I know way too many people who aren’t working, not because they prefer to sit at home and draw a government check, but
because nobody will hire them. Some people have tried, quite literally, for years to get work, only to get constantly rebuffed. There is only so many times
one can bang their head against a concrete wall before one gets a headache and gives up. Yet the welfare stigma remains—not just remains, but also getting
stronger, more engrained into society. The direction things are going right now, quite frankly, terrifies me. Based on that framework, I ask the question
again: Is socialism really all that bad? From my perspective, I have to say no.

About Kevin LaRose

cat daddy extraordinaire, creator of mouthwatering dishes, able to teach a language geek enough history and politics that she removes her head from the language books for at least an hour a day...

About Kevin LaRose

cat daddy extraordinaire, creator of mouthwatering dishes, able to teach a language geek enough history and politics that she removes her head from the language books for at least an hour a day...

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