Today I came across many blogs supporting a turn in the US to socialism. These people actually fight for socialism. And the real odd thing is that most of the websites were representing youth socialists. Yes, youth. Half the time they don't even know what on earth they're supporting.
Dictionary.com defines socialism as:
a theory or system of socialorganization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of themeans of production and distribution,of capital, land, etc., inthe community as a whole.
They say they want world peace, no war, equality for everyone. Same pay. No rich, no poor, all equal. Everyone gets the same things, that way nobody gets their feelings hurt and everyone is "happy", and equal all the time.
Hmmmmmm... when you read these idiotic believes and desires does the word "communism" ring a bell?
One of the biggest lesson in life is opposition. Everything needs to have an opposite. Otherwise, everything is the same.
-hot needs cold in order for it to be called "hot"
-happy needs sad
-good needs bad
-rich needs poor
They all need each other. Is that concept really too hard to understand?
All men are created equal, but they aren't meant to stay equal. In life, every human needs to earn things. We need to learn the important value of hard work. People who work hard to earn their own money should be able to keep it.
Can you even imagine a socialist world? How horrible would that be? Sure, it sounds fine. Equality, equal rights, anti-war, "queer" liberation, immigrant rights, everyones free, right?
WRONG.
People need to learn that freedom doesn't come free.
Freedom to one certain group means captivity for the rest of everyone.
I came across a youth socialist website, called "Socialist action" mainly for teens and young people who want to support the entire world to turn socialist. Money is actually donated to these clueless "activists". This website explains what they want. But not once how they plan on getting it. They say things like:
"Socialist Action believes in a world without borders. We fight for complete immigrant rights, and oppose all restrictions and efforts to deport immigrants...We support the building of an autonomous queer liberation movement, where gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people can come together and make their own demands and develop their own leadership and power.... We are unconditional defenders of a woman’s right to choose, and are partisans in fight to keep abortion clinics open...We believe that Israel
This goes against everything I believe. These people need to LEAVE the u.s and go start their own "country" somewhere far, far away from me.
If you want this idiotic thing called socialism, please comment on what the heck you're thinking.
America, we may be in a war but the only thing that is going to destroy our country is our own selves.
mostly the democrats and socialists
(ivy)
Hi, I saw your comment on the Socialist Unity website.
ReplyDeleteThe rich may 'need' the poor - how else will they get people to spend their lives making them rich - but why do the poor, the workers, need the rich? We do all the work, keep society running. I don't think the people who clean our streets, staff our shops and drive our buses need to 'learn the value of hard work'. They live and breathe hard work.
A basic principle of socialism is, not that everyone is the same, but that everyone should have enough, that there *is* enough to go around - and that what we get out of life should reflect what we put into it. That is now the case now. From each according to his ability, to each according to his need etc.
In the UK, where I live, over the last year, the richest thousand people have increased their wealth by a third, to £336 billion. The top corporate executives have rewarded themselves bonuses of 23%. This, at a time when there has been a major financial crisis caused by these same businessmen, necessitating massive cuts in social spending and attacks on the living standards of the poorest.
From your blog I can see you are a Christian. Who threw the money-lenders out of the temple? Who embraced the poor and the wretched? Consider Matthew 19:23 (KJV). There is a strong tradition of ethical, Christian socialism. A good friend of mine is both an Episcopalian and a member of the US International Socialist Organisation. It is not unheard of, Ivy. Socialists are not monsters or morons.
No, I don't think socialists are any kind of monsters, I just disagree with everything that they are for. You made many good points. Probably some of the best arguments I've seen from a socialist. And I agree, many of the poorest people in the world are some of the hardest workers. Another big lesson in life is that life is not at all fair. And I, being Christian believe that life should be full of trials and lessons. We shouldn't all be equal because we are all in different situations. We need to grow and learn. The only way to do that is to have a life with hard things. Being equal, having no war, and living in a great, perfect world actually wouldn't be good. Also, Christ threw the money leaders out of the temples not because they were money leaders, but because they were in the sacred temple areas. He embraced the poor, because usually the poor are the ones who are more loving, and understanding. The term "rich" especially in the bible, not only means wealthy but vain and prideful in some cases. I don't think Christ was meaning that money was bad necessarily, but that setting your heart on your riches is a sin.
ReplyDeleteObviously, as someone who is not religious, I think we should stress the importance of improving life in the here and now, not maintain injustice or oppression in order to have some sort of spiritual obstacle to overcome.
ReplyDeleteBut most people who *are* religious, would deplore those who argue there should be deprivation or cruelty simply so that people can achieve salvation by tolerating it. The point is not to 'grow and learn from', but to end, the problems of the world. Religiously-inspired political movements have been among the most strenuous advocates of social justice - look at the liberation theologians in Latin America. They need not even be on the Left: consider the strength of Christian Democratic parties throughout Europe.
I do not believe that accepting the necessity of poverty or war is a very Christian concept. It devalues our humanity, by substituting doctrine for compassion.
Politicians and political groups which advocate the present unequal division of wealth - i.e. support the capitalist relations of production, and the neoliberal policies which minimise concessions to working people within the constraints of that system - tend to enjoy higher support from the wealthiest sections of society. Do you honestly think that is because they want to save the poor from the sin of 'setting their heart on riches'? Or are they the ones who have succumbed to vanity and pride? Is conservatism not merely selfishness masquerading as principle?
I actually think that a world without war would be a good thing. A world that is peaceful, and where everyone has enough to eat, and somewhere to live, and free time to socialise and raise families, where we can all educate our children, heal our sick,care for our elderly, would be a good thing. I am astonished anyone could disagree - even the most reactionary politicians generally give lip-service to the idea of creating a better world. Are you sure you really believe what you wrote? I find it, to be honest, quite heartless.
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ReplyDeleteYa, I could see how it may look very heartless. I don't mean for it to be that way at all. Your right, a world without war would be very peaceful and nice, however it is illogical to fight for a world without it. Think about it, do you socialists actually believe that if you try hard enough, you can obtain a near-perfect world? I understand that even one person can make a big difference in the world, but no matter how hard you try, you cannot control the actions of others or what they believe. Even if you get the government to become socialists, people will still fight for what they think is right. I don't mean to sound like a downer but no matter what, the world cannot make it equal for everyone. Someone is will always be upset. I think that most conservatives are just logical thinkers.
ReplyDelete