Paved with good intentions

So I've discussed my thoughts on why socialism is not a good thing. Fair enough. Now lets look at the people themselves who uphold it.

In my opinion, they fall into two categories; 1) are those with clear intentions that socialism is the answer, and 2) those that are "sheeple," a new term conjunctive of sheep + people. These are the ones that "drink the Kool-Aide." More on this latter.

On the first category, we have people that have a penchant for Marxism and an envious eye towards supposedly successful socialized states, such as France, Germany, etc. They are not typically active Christian faith, but they do have a faith -- a faith that the government can fix mans problems; poverty, health care, education, war, etc. Every time a socialist government arises, somehow the perpetrators think that "this time, we will be successful because we are smarter, wiser, and gosh darnit, sheeple like us!" But, people are not perfect (heh, we killed the only perfect one!), and with that imperfection comes imperfect government -- every single time. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

And thus, the situation never improves.

So, looking at those "improved" programs... when capitalism is in full swing, unemployment hovers around 5%. Do you know what the medium unemployment rate is for socialised countries? 10%. What's that? Yes, it creats more poverty instead of curing it. Why not? Unemployment benefits are extended, so why bother working if you get a long hand-out. The Stimulus bill extended unemployment benefits in the US, how cool is that? I'll be drawing it in a week. Guess I can't complain too much.

How about that glorious state driven health care? Many countries in Europe are actually pushing for more privatized health care because it has been a castastrophy. Ever wonder why Canadians come to the US for surgeries? Because it takes too long to get it done up North. We go to them for perscriptions, they come to us for treatment. Kind of a fair trade, I assume. We already nag about waiting 3 hours in an ER room, yet Britain just celebrated the fact that they got the wait to under 18 hours recently. Here's Canada's average, 20 hours 48 minutes.

Here's the real deal: instead of your doctor making the choices, he'll have to remand it to the state, which will be inundated with requests, which will bog the system down, and then some accountant will be doing cost analysis on your request. Finally, a decision will come back and if it was a mastectomy and this took more than 2 months for the turnaround (which is fast for socialized medicine, FYI), well, might as well be a death sentence. That cancer has probably moved on to other organs by now.

I'm not going to talk about all those programs I first highlighted above, but the point is, there are people who have studied and promote socialism despite all the ills it brings to the table. As a matter of fact, we call these people liberals which is a huge misnomer for them. Liberal, from the same cognate as Liberty, meaning, freedom. Make no mistake, it does not free you from anything except responsibility. They now go by "progressives", but they are Statists -- people who support government as the ultimate elixir -- the cure-all for mans ills. These people are educated at some of the finest institutes in the country. They deny truth and facts, and go on good feelings. Well, Hitler made people feel good too, and we all know where that got us.

The Statist has good intentions, and I mean that. They want to help the poor, impoverished, unhealthy, uneducated, and so forth, but they mean to do so at someone else's expense, punishing the actual people that keep the country running and the government in power. This is where the second teer of statists come in. They go to a "democrat" rally and feel energized that he or she can actually do something to help with these world wide problems, and all they really have to do is vote for such a candidate who has an agenda to fix it all. This is called 'drinking the Kool-Aide,' because all you have to do is agree and not think -- that's been done for you. They agree on upping the taxation to be "fair," even though 40% don't actually pay taxes at all. Isn't it fair when we all participate? And that's where the Statist falls off. They don't think beyond the feelings. They do not find the truth of the matter, even though they may be college educated. But let's look at college education these days.

What do you really learn in college these days? Analytical skills? Not so much, unless you go to law, and even then you're not expounding beyond the set plays of the instructor, unless you enjoy jeorpodizing your grades. I was told by a professor that we "needed to be careful who we voted for this election," because " they were talking about bringing back the draft." Which caused audible 'gasps.' Who would do such a thing? I found out it was two democrats who were drafting the bill. This teacher was a liberal, but withheld information in an attempt to sway ideas. I looked it up. Did anyone else in the class? Doubtful. Sure, just one instance of a few, but you aren't taught to think, but just regurgitate "facts" onto a multiple choice test with answers that align with the professor's beliefs. Then you flush it out of your brain and make room for the next class. Seriously, that's what we do.

Moving on.

I've been reflecting upon a quote recently, and it is a great quote. You know it all to well. It is based upon the American Dream in some regards. To quote isn't actually his -- he got it from a school master during his youth, but that doesn't matter. He immortalized it. And he was a democrat back when they were not socialists, but the other side of the coin in an honorable society:

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!"
-Pres. John F. Kennnedy

Beautiful. Name one democrat that espouses that ideology today? This is a democrat making an anti-Statist statement. Unless, expanding the government is what you think you can do for your country, but let's talk about that.

The Constitution does not grant the US Government to right to set up programs; it deliberately defers that right to the states themselves, as outlined in the Bill of Rights (e.g., Amendments #9 & #10). This means that Social Security (bankrupt), Medicare/caid (bankrupt), Education (always cutbacks), and soon Healthcare, are all unconstitutional. We're being taxed for things that are not even supported by our founding fathers in the Constitution. And the Statists are pushing for even more.

Okay, lets leave the side tangents for a bit and get back to the topic; "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." It certainly is. The Statist has good intentions for the most part as noted above. Then are some, as cited in the new Batman movie, when Alfred is talking to Bruce about the character of men, and, "some of them just like to see the world burn." Socialism is certainly a segue to that. Remember, when you've perfected socialsim, you have communism. And what stopped communism from taking over Europe? Capitalism -- the US. It's what got us into Vietnam, trying to stop the flow of evil ideology. And it is evil because people are evil. Imagine what'll happen once we're binded with socialism. Think of all the places in the world where the US has stopped aggression; Korea, Tawain, Israel, and I know that the US threatened Nicaragua from invading the military-less Costa Rica back in the 1950s. I bet there are lots of similar circumstances.

Socialized Europe looks promising, but it is rotting away. Their cultures are eroding from within, because they cannot sustain growth, and I mean that both economically and citizenry. They are burdened with too many programs, and not enough producers (i.e., taxable citizens). The natural birth rate is 1.38. In order to sustain itself, a country needs 2.11. The US is 2.11 with illegal immigration. No country has survived from 1.3 birth rate. The German Federal Statistical Office recently stated that by 2050, Islam will be the majority in their state (oh, Islam has an 8.1 birth rate in Europe). Do you know why they stated that? It's too late for Germany. It's too late for Russia as well. Illegals in the US have similar statistics.

This is what happens to socialized countries. They lose borders, they lose their health, they lose their wealth, they lose the will to produce because after a while, we all feel the need for entitlement. We cease to have absolute truths and everything becomes "relative." Not your place to judge between rights and wrong. Not only that, we cease to have a religious following.

Socialism basically started in the US in 1932, when FDR took office and vastly expanded the government. It was reitereated with LBJ's "Great Society" and Carter's push with CRA and controlling money loaning. Clinton tried a few things, but was a centrist and failed at health care, but did push harder with the CRA ordeal. Bush gave the government more power with the Patriot Act, which was a honest idea until it was used against citizens as the recent DHS report demonstrated. And now we have a true Statist disciple in power, taking advantage of a crisis, knowing full well of his intentions, and seeking to reface the US. Most likely it'll be a bloodless coup, because the drinks of apathy are aplenty, besides, who's willing to die for a cause anymore? Again, entitlement already -- I have so much more to lose than those forefathers 230 years ago.

And I'd miss my shows... among other things.

I apologize for the randomness of this post. Upon reflection, it is an atrocity. But, it is late, I have work tomorrow, and I'm just going to skip editing altogether. Fish through it as you like.

So what's the problem here?

Ya know, I'm sorry my recent posts have not been the light-hearted diatribes from yesteryear. And I'll try to get back on that track as soon as possible. But, while this nation is heading off track, I figured it was time we did some critical thinking about socialism, and why it isn't a good idea. After all, many nations do subscribe to socialism, and we don't hear much issue with that, right?

Recognizing that 53% of the populace voted to put Obama into power, one has to wonder whether they actually knew what they were asking for.

So, socialism, if we could make it a simplistic explanation, it is government owned corporations and industry. Or, in other words, the government owning, say, GM, or the banks, or Amtrak... not that unimaginable, eh? Communism, on the other hand, is the government basically owning everything, including your daily routine. (Although I heard a quote, "Once you've perfected socialism, you have communism.")

I probably do not need to tell you what capitalism is, save for the example the US is and has become the most successful nation in the history of the world based on its model.

Let's go back, way back before we remember. To do this, we need to admit there is a God. Yes, we're getting preachy now. Get some popcorn and enjoy the ride.

There either is or is not a Divine Being. For the sake of this post, there is. In Jeremiah 1:9, God tells him he knew him before he was in the womb. In Revelations 12 we read that the Devil warred with the angels in heaven and was cast out with 1/3 of the hosts of heaven. What were they fighting over? Ideology. Specifically, how things we going to be run here on earth. Let's assume that there are two plans for the future inhabitants on the new Earth; one person says he'll save everyone by controlling them, and the other says he will die so everyone is saved if they choose to accept God. Nevertheless, they can choose whatever they want, but the option to return to God is through his sacrifice.

Hard to choose, would you not agree? One guy, Lucifer (son of the morning light) wants everyone to live in his utopia-esque world, and the other angel named Emanuel (God is with him) offers free will. Either could be the plan of salvation, but only one can be selected. So what's a campaigner to do? Convince as many as possible to accept your plan over the other, thus a war ensued. Maybe it was just a propaganda war, politics as usual, but suffice it to say, one was selected, and my guess is the other party was a sore loser, and was thus cast out.

Let's look at the one that was chosen; Christ's plan. It is obvious we have free will, as no one is dictating to you what you should be doing -- you have that option to select between right and wrong. Coincidentally, all humans are born with the ability to make moral decisions, if it were not so, our sense of reasoning would be on par with common animals. But we know we shouldn't steal, lie, rape or kill. We can desensitize ourselves to it, however, and make it a pleasure as well, but the inherent bad feeling strikes us all universally. From there, you form yourself, or character. (Uhm, side tangent there...)

So, I think we can agree that Christ won, the redemption plan went into effect and Lucifer became Satan, that mighty Devil leading a 1/3 host of heaven on Earth against us. I see it as a loser mentality and heavily influenced by "misery loves company" but also integrating an alternative plan; if enough of the people fail Christ's plan, maybe we'll get another chance at our plan. It doesn't matter really, the point is we're in the first accepted plan and whatever comes afterwards isn't part of this discussion.

If we opine on Lucifer's plan, it was, in essence, the foundation for Communism. We can assume that his plan was the opposite of the winner's plan; freedom to chose. So in my conclusion, Lucifer proposed a communist pseudo-utopia society where everyone was mandated to obey laws that guaranteed a path back to God. Oh, and by default that would have made him the Christ. Still, no one could not chose eternal life -- there is no deviating from the law. You do not choose anything, the government would determine what was best for you and the utopia to salvation.

Let's get back to our world and the facts we do know. You can get to communism without socialism, but it takes massive blood letting of the people. Take, for example, Russia in 1918, or China late 1940's. In China, they were still rejecting communism until the "Cultural Revolution" wherein 20 million people perished and the long traditions of China were erased. [read: Spiral Road]

And here we have the Great USA. If you've been a part of the USA, then you know it is a blessed country, despite the current inhabitants. Looking at the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, there is no leap of faith to determine that this country was based on Judeo-Christian beliefs. Sure, people have tried to split hairs on certain points, but the fundamental premise is there; thank God for helping us make this great country. Not only that, but the government was set up to be a limited entity that protected the rights of its people. Why would they do that? Because they knew that men are free to make their own decisions and that the more laws you make, the more indentured the citizens become to their governments. And looking at the tenth amendment, seems they wanted to keep the federal government limited indefinitely.

The problem with socialism is that it is the stepping stone to Lucifer's original plan -- to enslave the masses with laws upon laws. America is different, we started out free and used that to build up a great nation because we understood our respective responsibilities and accountability. But ever so slowly, more and more laws keep piling up, and if we wanted, we could say that it is because the nucleus of a successful nation is falling apart; the family. We'll save that topic for another time.

Still, with our new president in power, the process of implementing socialism is speeding up quickly as I cited above; the government is seeping into many industries in the country such as housing, auto, banking, credit, charities, and so forth. Now I am not saying Obama is Lucifer or the anti-Christ, because then anyone with a penchant for big controlling government is an anti-Christ and some people just aren't that smart. (he, he!) But what I can tell you is that socialism is not a functioning, thriving government that will benefit any country because it continues to suck away the rights of free men (and women).

Then, what is so appealing about socialism? It is a narcissist dream come true. You don't have to do anything because someone else is doing that for you. Bum on the street? No problem, they have a program for relief. Behind on bills? The government has someone to step in to help. Losing your job? The government will have a program to fix that, either through a union or unemployment. Health care? The government will get you what you need. And so on and so forth. What are you accountable for? What's your responsibility? You don't have to worry about that, someone will be assigned in lieu of you. Of course, you will be taxed for all these defunct programs laden with corruption, and that, too, will minimize your freedom.

Of course, people look for the easiest route to travel. And socialism is certainly that fork in the road more easily traveled. You can claim that Europe has been successfully using socialism for years, but none of them are older than our successful capitalism. Sure, the countries have been around since before the USA, but their respective governments have changed ample times since the end of the 18th century. And, their hands are tied. They do not have the ability the US does to produce wealth and enrich lives because of their government.

And that brings me to perhaps my last point, the death of the American Dream. Obama seems to think that he only needs to tap the top 5% of Americans to make his USA into a socialistic utopia, and this is deceitful. In order for it to work, we all have to give up bits and pieces of freedom -- not all at once -- just small amounts here and there. Because socialism isn't just about money, it's more about control. Money just happens to bring control, but if you have control, then comes even more money.

So there you pretty much have my thoughts on socialism -- it is the end of progress and more succinctly, the end of the productive USA and the freedoms paid for in blood by our forefathers, blessed with divine insight to set up the best country in this world based on a plan founded before the world was inhabited. And it is hard to fathom how this country should end; the same as its inception, or with a slow, pathetic whimper... It could be the sad end note to a great book either way you look at it.

Food and bullets, my friends, food and bullets. Put your faith in God and keep your powder dry.