SOCIALISM MISREPRESENTED

Parents are easily frightened these days. Some of them
pulled their kids from school when the president spoke
there, lest their tender ears be seduced by "socialism"!
What there is in hard work, self respect, goal setting and
pride of accomplishment that is socialistic remains a mys-
tery. Isn't that what capitalism is about? Has Obama
ever said anything in favor of socialism? Please tell me
me what and where. I've missed it.

He has rejected out of hand single payer health insurance.
But even Canada's single payer plan isn't socialism. It
works with private doctors and private hospitals. In
socialism, the government owns and operates the hospi-
tals and employs doctors and nurses. That's not advo-
cated by anyone here for our general population.

Our VA hospitals are government run and highly rated
for cost efficiency and medical excellence. That, of course,
is socialism, as is our mail service, military establishment,
government run schools, fire departments, police and so on.
All of them work O. K. when properly funded and managed.
Medicare isn't socialism, but it is single-payer health care,
well run and well liked. It needs some re-working and better
funding.

If Obama was for socialism, he wouldn't have saved the big
banks. He would have nationalized them like Paul Krugman,
Joe Stiglitz and other top economists urged him to do. Ditto
for GM.

Obama is a communitarian, as are most Democrats. People
are confusing that with socialism. It's a confusion aided and
abetted by Obama haters like Rush, Beck and Hannity. They
equate liberals with everything vile and un-American they
can dream up. Actually, half our population is liberal when
it comes to government help for the needy. Does that make
half the country socialists? No, it makes them communitarians
that believe the common good (general welfare) as a political
goal must take precedence over private gain and advantage.

Most Republicans are economic libertarians. They are not all
social conservatives. Barry Goldwater, who got the libertarian
movement rolling politically, was for choice on abortion, and
for gays in the military. Libertarians are social Darwinists (SDs).
They believe it's a jungle out there, and the fittest will survive
and prosper. Losers must serve the winners on the latters'
terms. That's just the way it is!

Communitarians prize what nurtures and promotes communi-
ty well being for all. It applauds individual success insofar as
as that benefits the community. It usually does. That results
in the common good.

Social Darwinists (SDs) prize freedom to excel and enjoy the
rewards of that success above concern for the less privileged.
It's "survival of the fittest." The big fish eat the little fish. SDs
usually deny there is inherent conflict between the common
good and individual success. "A rising tide lifts all boats," they
claim. Look around you! Is that happening? The stock mar-
ket is recovering. Are the homeless? The jobless? They don't
have boats. They're drowning. Communitarians say "that's
wrong." SDs say, "that's life." And "life isn't fair, so why
should we try to be?"

So there you have it: Obama is a communitarian (liberal).
His detractors are confusing that with socialism because
they don't know the difference, but are sure it's anti-
American. That's why they depict him as a foreigner,
Marxist, Muslim, whatever vile they can think of.

They also don't know that all the great religions, including
Secular Humanism, are communitarian. They all teach
that we have a primary responsibility for the welfare and
concerns of our fellow human beings. They all tell us, in
fact command us to do unto (for) others as we would have
them do for us. Religious people who are not communi-
tarians, and support social darwinism instead are not
properly instructed in the basic teachings of their faith.
To understand this, the writings of the current Pope and
the Dalai Lama are good places to start.

Let me hear what you think!

jgoodwin004@centurytel.net