Patriot Update

In Part 9 of this series, I explained the blind faith of liberals in socialist principles.  In this final installment of the series, I explain my view that socialism is not just a misguided system—it is a destructive system.  Some middle-of-the-road thinkers take the position that socialism is a misguided but benign concept.  I disagree.  Socialism is a destructive concept.  It is about group control and groupthink, 1984 put into practice.  Socialism glorifies big brother—the state—and undermines the individual.

What makes undermining the value of the individual especially destructive is that the values that combine to improve society begin at the individual level.  These values include personal initiative, self-reliance, self-discipline, diligence, pride in one’s work, and responsibility.  The individual has no value in a socialist society.  The destructiveness of socialism comes from the fact that it de-emphasizes the human values and human qualities that account for entrepreneurship, productivity, and charity.  Rather, it rewards group think, sloth, and entitlement.

To get a hint of how destructive socialism can be, consider the effects of the welfare system in America.  Not only are people not helped by welfare, they are held back by it.  Providing people with something for nothing robs of them of personal initiative, self-reliance, accountability, and a sense of personal responsibility—all important factors in building a better life.  Worse, welfare encourages its recipients to think of themselves as victims of a society that is inequitable, unfair, and unjust.  Hence, welfare recipients can come to believe that they deserve government entitlements.  Welfare is a socialist program operating within what is still a quasi-free market economy, although under Barack Obama it is becoming less and less free.  Consequently, as bad as its effects are, they are nothing when compared with what the effects would be of a fully-implemented, broad-based socialist system.

In his book, Saving Freedom, Senator Jim DeMint said, “On the cultural front, the socialization of values has turned right and wrong upside down.  Courts and legislatures have decreed that many behaviors once considered ‘wrong’ by society—abortion, unwed sex and births, divorce, homosexuality, pornography, gambling, laziness, etc.—are now ‘rights.’  The costs and impact to America’s culture of these decisions have been devastating.  Behaviors once considered wholesome, constructive, and ‘right’—prayer, belief in right and wrong, sexual abstinence, traditional marriage, personal responsibility, delayed gratification—are discouraged and even held in disdain by governing elites.”

This series of 10 articles was written to give the reader systematic arguments for countering the socialist views of the left—views that are subscribed to by the majority of media outlets in America, government schools and colleges, and the entertainment industry.  As a result of the indoctrination they receive daily from these sources and others, many young Americans have witlessly joined the socialist parade. It does not bode well for America—historically the bastion of personal and economic freedom—when more than 30 percent of 18 – 35 year olds think socialism is superior to the free market.  These are the leaders of tomorrow—a scary thought unless we do what is necessary to show them the light today.  I encourage readers to use the information presented in these 10 articles to do just that.

What’s So Bad About Socialism? (Intro)

How Do You Define Socialism? (Part 1)

Beginnings of American Socialism in Public Education? (Part 2)

Socialism’s First Casualties (Part 3)

14 Reasons Socialism Won’t Work in America (Part 4)

Socialism’s Fundamental Flaw that Liberals Simply Ignore (Part 5)

Most Effective Tool Used to Sell Socialism to Americans? (Part 6)

How Liberals Use Emotionalism to Advance Their Agenda (Part 7)

How The Left Hopes to Use Government to Control Every Aspect of Americans’ Lives (Part 8)