Let's Talk Politics- A Political Rant on Socialism
A robber is outside your house, attempting to break & enter. You think he may be armed. You are scared, uncertain of what to do. So you call the cops, tell them your entire situation, explain to them that time is of the essence here. Nobody should have to feel scared in their own home. Then suddenly the cops say "Uhhh no we have this other guy who is paying us $1k to come to his house first. Unless you can pay more than that, we're not coming to your house for another hour or two." You hang up the phone feeling alone, let down, & now more scared than ever for your own life.
This is what a truly capitalistic police force would look like. You'd have to pay to get protection basically. If you didn't pay, they would put you on hold, make you wait, etc. Want to know something eye opening? The police force is a socialist function. GASP? How so you might ask? I thought democratic socialism was communism? I thought that meant you have to give up all your money with nothing in return? WRONG. A socialist function is one in that you pay taxes & part of your taxes are allocated towards a specific facet of society; not something you have to actually directly pay for. This is because if you were in real danger, imagine having to take out your credit card to swipe. "Uhh sir or madam, your balance is showing zero, we cannot help you right now." That is why we have these functions in place. They are simply meant to save us from danger when the time is necessary, or to make all of our lives easier.
Did you get an education in school? That would be part of a program called socialism. Are you very patriotic of your country & support the military in whatever they do? Socialism. Do you like being able to call the fire department when there's a fire in your house? Socialism. Do you enjoy perusing your local libraries fine selection of books & being able to check one out free of charge? Socialism. Do you enjoy being able to send a letter in the mail by simply placing a stamp on the upper right hand corner? Socialism. The list goes on, you probably are starting to see my point here. If you pay for the services indirectly with taxes, but don't have to swipe a credit card when the service is needed most, it's technically a socialist program. Understand this. It's not to take away your freedoms- it's simply to make your life easier & provide you with more freedom in the long run.
It doesn't matter whether you are democrat, republican, independent, libertarian, green party, whatever. We have these socialist functions deeply embedded into our society for a reason. Would you want to have to bid for the police officer coming to your house to rescue you from danger? Or do you like being able to call at any time from anywhere & know that if you live within their jurisdiction, they'll be at your house quickly & for free, to help you out of a jam. If you said yes to any of these listed above, you might not know it yet, but you are a supporter of socialistic programs.
So next time you are going to vote, keep this in mind. Look at the ideals of the candidate you are voting for. I wanted Bernie as president the last election cycle. And I heard many naive people judging him because he's a democratic socialist. They would say things like "he wants to take all of our money!" or "he's a communist!" or "[insert uniformed opinion here]!" These things are simply untrue though at the core of it. I'm always an advocate for doing your own research before coming to any sort of conclusion on anything really. This is no different. The truth is you probably you programs that are considered socialism on a daily basis- maybe socialism isn't so bad after all.