Socialism

During the last few days of his miserable campaign, John McCain labeled Barack Obama a Socialist. Everyone immediately defended Obama and claimed that McCain had crossed the line. They claimed McCain had crossed the line with that one. From the dumb, ignorant assholes who brought you Creationism its......Socialismphobia! After all, that's what Joseph Stalin was right? Karl Marx? Those were the bad guys, and they believed in Socialism, so therefore it must be wrong.

That couldn't be further from the truth. Socialism, like Capitalism or any other major political theory should be practiced in moderation. 100% Socialism fails just as much as 100% capitalism. But I'm here to argue that Socialism has its merits.

Do you like the fact that the government provides a mandatory education for all of its citizens? Do you think the government should provide Health Care to it's citizens? (The World Health Organization finds that the top 30 countries for health care all use government run programs) Do you like labor unions that fight for worker's rights? How about the minimum wage? Medicare and Medicaid? Social Security? Age Standards for Jobs? Mandatory Working Conditions Standards? How about Government regulatory agencies? Unemployment Benefits? Disability Benefits? How about the national power grid which provides energy at low costs? School Lunches? How about the FDA?

But that's not all. Your Local Fire Department and Police Department are both Socialist Programs. Same with NASA. The Public Works and Arts administration are two more examples. Both programs were introduced by Franklin Roosevelt, who's New Deal got us out of the Great Depression. Too bad the idea wasn't originally his. It was stolen from a Socialist Worker's Party candidate for President that ran less than a decade earlier by the name of Eugene V. Debs.

Several European countries have taken large leaps in the direction of Socialism. Nations like France, Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland are some examples. When it comes to education, economic disparity, life span, and overall quality of life, these nations topple the United States. It's because they've socialized their economic, medical and education systems much more than we have.

Our country has the largest gap between the rich in the poor in the industrialized world. We're falling behind in education, and are number 37 in terms of health care. Isn't time we embrace something that makes so much sense? Fear tactics have gotten us nowhere, and many people fail to grasp what exactly what Socialism entails. It's high time we get with the program and embrace an ideology that will move us forward rather than backward.