...open a dictionary or take a history lesson? McCain's brother (and, ipso facto, the McCain campaign) has been calling Arlington (where I lived for 2 years) and Alexandria Counties in NoVa "communist counties." Which is funny because a lot of people in DC think that those counties are where all the Young Republicans live... but that's another story for another time. I also recently saw someone ask on a CNN comment log what "socialist" countries have ever been successful and claiming that Obama was a socialist and going to ruin us...
This has gotten me thinking about erroneous understandings (or, in the case of McCain, blatant use of erroneous understandings to strike fear and hatred in the hearts of those who, apparently, just don't know better), so I think it's time for a little educational time*:
1st: Being a liberal Democrat is NOT the same as being a Communist. Most liberal Democrats fully embrace capitalism and a (mostly) free market, but do think that certain social and civil rights should be protected and enforced by the government when bigots out there refuse to get with the times. Also, at most, people who vote Democrat and are really, really far to the left are Democrat Socialists... which brings me to my second point
2nd: Socialism is NOT necessarily the same thing as Communism. In fact, there are several thriving and successful democratic-socialist countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, England, France, Germany, ANYBODY WHOSE DOLLAR IS WORTH MORE THAN OURS AND HAS HEALTHCARE AND EDUCATION FOR EVERYONE!!!! Socialism doesn't always mean a loss of personal freedoms or individual voice... and it also doesn't mean that there aren't stores with pretty things for us to go chose to buy. It just means that workers are protected, certain rights are protected, and the market is regulated. Now, there are varying degrees of this and some examples of socialist governments that abuse their people, but in practice, socialism hasn't equaled communism and might have a lot to offer the world as an economic system... which leads me to my final point.
3rd: Blaming Socialism for the actions of Communist countries does no justice to socialism as an economic system. In fact, most communist countries have failed, by and large, because they weren't, in fact, communist. They were totalitarian regimes built on horrible human rights injustices. Furthermore, they were often countries that never even had a proletariat/working class, but instead were, and are, peasant countries! Personally, I don't think that there has ever really been a true socialist/communist country as Marx laid out for these very reasons...plus the fact that there have been several countries where communism was chosen by the people and might have worked, but we (the US) have gone in and nipped that in the bud. 'Cause Democracy really only means pro-US, right? Sure, there was probably a good chance that the leaders were all Stalins in happy commune clothing, but we'll never (let anyone) know, will we?
So, basically, all I'm saying is that this rhetoric is McCarthyism all over again and just like then, not based in any understanding of the concepts or how they've been manipulated or misused... or, please for the sake of all that is good in this world and will keep us from blowing each other up, successfully adapted and mixed with capitalism.
Amen.
*Please note, that I realized that I am glossing over a lot of economic nuances here... but I felt the need to break this down hard and fast, without going back and rereading Marx again.
This has gotten me thinking about erroneous understandings (or, in the case of McCain, blatant use of erroneous understandings to strike fear and hatred in the hearts of those who, apparently, just don't know better), so I think it's time for a little educational time*:
1st: Being a liberal Democrat is NOT the same as being a Communist. Most liberal Democrats fully embrace capitalism and a (mostly) free market, but do think that certain social and civil rights should be protected and enforced by the government when bigots out there refuse to get with the times. Also, at most, people who vote Democrat and are really, really far to the left are Democrat Socialists... which brings me to my second point
2nd: Socialism is NOT necessarily the same thing as Communism. In fact, there are several thriving and successful democratic-socialist countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, England, France, Germany, ANYBODY WHOSE DOLLAR IS WORTH MORE THAN OURS AND HAS HEALTHCARE AND EDUCATION FOR EVERYONE!!!! Socialism doesn't always mean a loss of personal freedoms or individual voice... and it also doesn't mean that there aren't stores with pretty things for us to go chose to buy. It just means that workers are protected, certain rights are protected, and the market is regulated. Now, there are varying degrees of this and some examples of socialist governments that abuse their people, but in practice, socialism hasn't equaled communism and might have a lot to offer the world as an economic system... which leads me to my final point.
3rd: Blaming Socialism for the actions of Communist countries does no justice to socialism as an economic system. In fact, most communist countries have failed, by and large, because they weren't, in fact, communist. They were totalitarian regimes built on horrible human rights injustices. Furthermore, they were often countries that never even had a proletariat/working class, but instead were, and are, peasant countries! Personally, I don't think that there has ever really been a true socialist/communist country as Marx laid out for these very reasons...plus the fact that there have been several countries where communism was chosen by the people and might have worked, but we (the US) have gone in and nipped that in the bud. 'Cause Democracy really only means pro-US, right? Sure, there was probably a good chance that the leaders were all Stalins in happy commune clothing, but we'll never (let anyone) know, will we?
So, basically, all I'm saying is that this rhetoric is McCarthyism all over again and just like then, not based in any understanding of the concepts or how they've been manipulated or misused... or, please for the sake of all that is good in this world and will keep us from blowing each other up, successfully adapted and mixed with capitalism.
Amen.
*Please note, that I realized that I am glossing over a lot of economic nuances here... but I felt the need to break this down hard and fast, without going back and rereading Marx again.
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1 comments:
Elizabeth: next time, shoot back, "Hey, it was the Republican Party leading the charge for the bailout that privatized Wall Street. Sounds like the GOP is the socialist party!"
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