It's no secret that if you knew me several years ago, you would have know that I would have identified myself as a "conservative socialist", or a "nationalist socialist". I was never a supporter of ObamaCare, but I believed social medicine is better than the currently flawed system we are now living under. And with good reason too. I believe firmly that pharmaceutical companies price gouge, medical care is disgustingly expensive, I want children to have good meals and education, I believe continued education after high school is important for all trades, and a whole host of other things. But my views changed in the past few years. Here's why:
1)
Practicality... Someone has to pay for all these things. It is no secret that our Government cannot balance a checkbook, and these things can't be supported. There is an attitude in our government of "we have checks in the checkbook, so we must have money in the account", and "oh we're broke? Let's print more money and increase taxes from the working class so those that don't work can have the same". The practicality of this is simply naive. The truth is, if you take more and more money from the working class, they will soon be in the same poverty bracket as the poor. Instead of more spending, how about reducing the amount of government involvement in most other areas and give power back to the states (remember the original configuration of American government?). More on this later....
2)
Responsibility. There was a time when the people assumed responsibility for themselves. You see all kinds of videos online now... I saw one the other day where this guy walked up to this lady and punched her in the face, knocking her out cold. She was simply sitting there watching he kids play in the park with other moms and this thug hit her out of the blue. No one said or did anything, no one leaned over and tried to help. No one took responsibility. Like the kid in Texas who killed those people drunk driving. Affluenza is what his lawyer argued. Too privileged to take responsibility. And here we are in America, a society that is willing to abdicate responsibility on every level, from basic parenting to helping those in need. No one is their brother's keeper. Except the government. Let the government do it, they say. create more programs and dump more money into it. That way we don't really have to get involved. There was a time in this country when communities banded together. During WWII there were community freedom gardens to help those in need. Churches used to actually do real diaconal ministries. Help was more than cutting a check or driving someone to the food bank. And this is my point. If we took personal responsibility, the government would not be needed to provide such things. There is no such thing as socialism in the Bible. There is, however, community. Where those who had, gave. from their own personal stores... All types of stuff I'd imagine, not just money. James 1 talks about true religion... Visiting the widows and the orphans. The idea James is trying to convey is to help those in need, those who have suffered loss. It's not talking about those who live off the system, the professional dole collectors. Those are the ones that need to be looking for jobs, not living off the working while sitting on their asses playing Xbox and making welfare babies. This is why Paul said in 2 Thessalonians that if anyone is not willing to work, they should not eat. It is the flip side of James' statement of what true religion is in caring for the poor... The truly poor.
3)
Equity. our constitution states that "all men are created equal", and that means we all have the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". What it doesn't mean, I discovered after applying a little common sense, is that being created equal simply gives us all the same base from which to start. We are free to pursue life, liberty and happiness to our own gain, but not another's detriment. Equity does not give us all the right to have the same things. The person who does not work, does not eat. Equity doesn't mean that the professional welfare collector deserves internet, a smart phone, healthcare, or even housing. It means that they are free to get a job and work. It means that they have the option of going to a Mickey D's and working a shift for whatever they are worth and possibly working another job or two to make it. That is the pursuit of happiness. Not the recipient of privilege, but the pursuit. They need to get off their butts and chase it. It sounds counter productive, I know... Who would think that working your butt off for 50-60 hours a week provides these things, but it's true. There is liberty in taking responsibility for yourself and family, working for what you get, and happiness in knowing that you earned it. What you have then becomes valuable, because no one handed it over to you. Affluenza goes out the window because you realize that what you earned becomes valuable, because you invested in it. You aren't living off mom or dad, the government, or someone else because you realize that real happiness come with what you invest in, not in what you take from someone else. This leads me to my final point on why Socialism is a failed system and why I am no longer a part of it.
4)
Selfishness. Socialism says take and divide what those who have among those who don't. It sounds good in it's concept, but it is inherently flawed, I believe for one reason. It is rooted in selfishness. It is self serving. In *EVERY* case where socialism has been tried, it has failed because those who have and are in control don't live like those who don't. They don't want to live like the person who does not work for their earnings, and they don't want to give what they earned to someone who hasn't invested what they have. On the flip side is the person who has nothing. He wants what the other person has, because socialism teaches them that they "deserve" what the one who has it has acquired. In the Old Testament it was called coveting. Thinking you deserve something you really don't. Like free healthcare, TV, phones, housing. Socialism teaches that if he has it, I deserve it, regardless of how that person worked to get it. It needs to be mine because we are all equal. Well, that is not what our constitution teaches. It teaches us that we begin with equal standing as human beings, and what we get from there is a direct result of what we earn. Oh wait... is that a free market economy? Is that something that requires us to engage our brains so that we have to think and innovate in ways that really and truly make us marketable? Yep. This is why socialism fails at it's core. It fails to take any of this into account. Why should a kid not work his way through college? What is wrong with that? It shows he is responsible, dedicated and hard working. Doesn't that make them marketable? Why should someone work for conveniences like TV, internet, etc...? Doesn't that show ambition?
At the end of the day, with all of this said, only one more thing could be added... Socialism kills creativity, it kills ambition, it kills the will to succeed and be your own man or woman. It stifles the very heart of the American spirit and stands in opposition to all that our country was founded on. There is no Magical well of enchantment to dip into and drink deeply of. a well which magically makes you successful and prosperous and gets you things... Unless that well is called hard work. The sweat of your brow.
