Donald Lee November 18, 2012 at 12:20 AM
Another article from out east – those who have lived socialism don’t understand why those in the USA can actually embrace it. http://www.irishexaminerusa.com/mt/2012/07/17/americans_ignorance_about_soci.html
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Michele Olson November 21, 2012 at 05:58 PM
I voted Democrat because I DO believe in social responsibility; humans are not islands, but social creatures. Working together as a community is how mankind fought its way up from the stone age, created a language, survived the elements. Look at any society around the world, and humankind has usually tended to cling together as a social unit. The whole image of the hardy immigrant coming to this shore and making his own way is an illusion. People immigrated here and found communities that were willing to help them survive. Our rights and freedoms are precious, I will agree. Freedom of expression, freedom from religious intolerance, freedom to vote. IMO, it is the Democratic party that has worked to preserve those rights. I didn’t vote Democrat to “get free stuff” – although it is interesting that one man’s “free stuff” is another man’s corporate tax write-off. I voted Democrat because I’ve learned something from history: every time, EVERY time, a minority accumulates the wealth, as is happening now, very, very bad things happen. I’m no communist (in fact, my husband served during the Cold War), and I don’t envy anybody else’s possessions. But this much disparity between those who have and those who do not, is dangerous. I also voted Democrat because I believe in education. If you haven’t been paying attention, this planet is dying. We need every student on board in the coming generations to learn how to save it.
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Donald Lee November 21, 2012 at 07:39 PM
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. The difference between “free stuff” and the “community” you describe is subtle, but I believe that it is a difference in degree rather than fundamentals. The problem with socialism, as Margaret Thatcher observed is that it works fine until you run out of other people’s money. It’s not that the “stuff” is “free”, but that the Democrat party has embraced the idea that the government should be used freely as a tool to force some people to pay, at least in part, for other people’s choices. Once you cross that line, there is no limit. There is no obvious place to stop. For instance, education is a good example. We have “public schools”, that are paid for by the whole community. The argument is that the whole community benefits, but the dynamics in that school are not necessarily what parents, or the community want. In education, frequently those who can well afford to pay for the education of their own children themselves force those with less in their communities to pay for their educational choices. At the same time, the policies in the schools are dictated by politics rather than the desires of parents or even best practices in education. Teachers unions turn out to be a powerful force for stasis, and drive higher costs. Thanks again for posting.
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Michele Olson November 22, 2012 at 12:49 AM
You bring up an interesting point about schools. Thing is, the public school system in this country wasn’t set up to propagate parental ideals, but to further the cause of American citizenship. An extremely ethnocentric view of the world, perhaps, but in the words of Lincoln, we consider ourselves ‘the last best hope for humanity.” (True or no? That’s a WHOLE other column.) Every generation learns something new, and every generation before resists it. If parents decide curriculum, we WILL have stasis. Disagree? Review the history of desegregation in the school systems. Thanks for listening. : )
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Donald Lee November 23, 2012 at 02:52 AM
We could have some long talks about this. 🙂 Thanks for posting.
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