Socialism! 

It sounds so ugly to so many Americans.  It’s a dirty word in this country and you better not identify yourself outloud with socialism.  You see, Liberals in America hold a high ground over Socialists and Conservatives revile both of them openly with contempt and scorn.

The funny thing is most Americans are un-thinking-ly the product of socialist institutions in America.  American public education represents one of the finest socialist instruments we've managed to make a reality.  Public education represents the realization of a dream in which every America has a right to be educated regardless of the wealth amassed by the family to which they've been thrown into. 

When I was a kid, capitalist schools were called private schools and they represented people of the wealthy persuasion.  A charter school doesn't hold the same prestige private schools had in the 70’s and 80’s.  The girls from the Facts of Life didn't dwell in the lower class until Jo became the token poor princess of the show. 

Mrs. Garrett clearly didn’t leave Mr. Drumond and Arnold to work in a charter school!

Police forces, fire departments and public libraries all across the United States of America present fine justifications for at least a little rational consideration of socialism as a way to make the world a better place.  We don't need to begin marching in lock step and killing illegitimate Presbyterian babies before great dancing flames of burning literature in order to at least consider socialism seriously in public debate.  We've realized socialism in America (before we started buying banks) and quite frankly most people don't have a problem with the brands of socialism we practice. 

In fact, many Americans rely on Socialism in the United States of America and it's not a bad thing!

Where’s the serious conversation?

Usually our conversations about socialism focus on some mysterious evil most people don't understand committed by some former socialist state no one really knows much about; therefore, the word socialism is still publicly defined as a dirty word equivalent to Satan (or Stalin!) 

It's important to recognize socialism governs an economy.  Dictatorship governs political policy the same as democracy.  No clear correlation demonstrates democratic forms of government couldn't co-exist with socialist economies. 

Medicine in the United States of America probably wouldn’t hurt for a bit of socialism.  We're all going to get sick eventually.  It's a dream but wouldn't it be great if every American had a right to be a recipient of the tremendous advances we've collectively made as a country.  No one person makes anything happen alone (think of their parents, and their parents' parents or the lady who folded your baby's clothes this morning so you could get to work on time.) 

Research and development might break beyond the realm of looking for the safest gel to pump into a woman’s breast or inventing disorders so the pill they created could be sold for the disorder you never realized you had until you saw their commercial on television.  Socialized medicine might be the pathway to a cure for cancer.  Conservatives love to point out how the government loves to spend money.  It's too bad private research firms don't love to spend money on things that look far away. 

The cure for cancer will continue to look far away until somebody wastes a bunch of money bringing it closer!

Maybe that’s not really the right answer either. 

Whose to say?  Certainly not me alone.  If we cured cancer where would we go from there?  More people living longer: more problems with Social Security.  These things must be thought through thoroughly and discussed.  Then still we're going to get part of it wrong!  The answer is never simple, but ideas should still be explored. 

If for no other reason than to dust an idea off, denounce it for the piece of trash that it is and then move on to the next idea.

Intelligent discussion should be required in our government?  Could socialism be a path to intelligent discussion in our government?  It might if we were able to talk about socialism as something other than a flat idea which is abhorent to 'our way of life.'  At least we would gain the intelligence (at that point) that words seldom have a one dimensional flat meaning. 

Words are simply what we've found to say about the world up until now.  It's always important to remember we're imperfect (where are my followers of Christ on this one?) so what we've found to say up until now is probably wrong!

I'll end here with a little stated observation.  The U.S. Army resembles a totalitarian, socialist regime in many ways.  For instance, U.S. Army bases generally consist of businesses owned partly by the government (i.e. the PX,) every worker receives pay equal to the tier they've last joined (i.e. ranks E-1 through E9) and camaraderie is enforced by saluting and recognizing title (i.e. ‘yes sir or ma'am.’) 

The U.S. Army fights for capitalist free markets but emulates socialist markets in their own homes.  Maybe the problem in the United States of America is we're really not as concerned with how people are governed as we let on.  It seems, we are really more concerned with control and power.

As long as those in power remain in power everything is groovy even with a dictator in charge.  When those in power become threatened then we have problems.

Are you in power?