The New Socialism
(To see the earlier Blogs, Page Down)
But that’s where it falls apart. None of those promises of socialism are true. Kindness, selflessness, community, prosperity, justice, all of that is destroyed by socialism. In every country that has embraced socialism, throughout history, we see nothing but failure. In no country have these promises become reality. It was the opposite. And it was devastating to the countries and their loss of freedoms.
I’m in a state of disbelief at how many millennials are buying into this. 2.052 million voters under the age of 30 voted for socialist Bernie Sanders in 2016. A large majority would prefer to live under socialism rather than capitalism. (How many of them have ever experienced life outside capitalism? None.) The Democratic Socialists of America have 30,000 members, most of them in their 20s, and eager to follow socialism; what they believe to be Utopia.
This age group, according to Harvard, has the greatest number of entrepreneurs, founding and owning their own businesses. This age group has the largest number of employees working remote, or from home, their choice, and many working Flex hours. They have the highest pay scale and best working conditions and change jobs frequently, their choice. This group most frequently buys new automobiles. In fact, the millennial age group is the largest consumer purchasing group of all goods. They are the best educated, and the widest traveled. What in the world is their beef with capitalism? Do they not realize that all of these liberties they enjoy daily, will be among the first they will lose under socialism? Do they really think we will all get free lunch? Don’t they realize they will be buying?
I’ve been trying to be rational and be certain I understand all the nuances, to be fair. I’m reading everything I can about socialism. I’ve just read 9 Ways that Socialism Will Morally Bankrupt America, a document by The Heritage Foundation, a social and political think tank. This is a simple and direct piece that would be good for every classroom, every student, every millennial, every American to learn, or relearn these statutes of socialism. I read the commentary What Americans Must Know About Socialism by Distinguished Fellow Lee Edwards, Ph.D., leading historian and author/editor of 25 books. I’m reading Putin’s autobiography. I’ve read some excellent articles that were shared on Facebook authored by knowledgeable analysts, and heartbreaking first-person stories by people who have lived through socialist regimes, escaped to America, and are now warning as they watch America tilting off her axis. I’ve written two biographies of three people for whom the socialist dream became a nightmare. We hosted several young adults from Eastern Europe who stayed in our home while working at the country club in the summers. They had memories of their grandparents crying for joy when the church doors were unlocked in Poland for the first time in these students’ lifetimes, in the 80s. We’ve had a number of exchange students from all over the world who were stunned at our supermarkets and music stores. Have you ever heard the wonderful storyteller Carmen Dede? Her stories will make you laugh, but they are laced with the truths of growing up in Cuba under the Castro regime. Watch the 1993 movie Candles in the Dark. Go to a naturalization ceremony and see what United States Citizenship means to our immigrants, and ask them why. Voters of every age need to know and understand what it would really mean to have a socialist government. Then they must learn to discern the marketing strategy of every political candidate. Candidates aren’t likely to call themselves out as Socialist. Called by any other name, it is still socialism. We must know the hallmarks of socialism so we can recognize it on their utopian platform. We must not back away from this. It is too important.