OK...first of all, more Federal funding, per se, does not equal socialism. If it does, the Bush administration is balls deep in all sorts of "Socialist" ventures.
Secondly, why are you so against socialized systems in the first place? Obviously there are issues, but Capitalism, as evidenced by our dismal economic state, isn't exactly fool proof either. If socialized health care and education are inherently evil, why is it that the nations of Scandinavia, that hotbed of pinko-commies, boast some of the highest life expectancies and quality-of-life measurements in the world? It appears that a free-market economy, combined with a strong welfare system, can be effective. The sheer size and demographic makeup of the United States is what make social systems such a difficult fit, not ineffectiveness (or to use the popular vernacular, 'suckiness') of the systems themselves.
Ok, so we've nixed the "if we socialize medicine, everyone explodes" family of arguments. What about the ideological stance? In oversimplified form; our Founding Fathers, champions of righteousness and tolerance, created an infallible system meant to staunchly stand the test of time. It's a beautiful idea. Let's delve a little deeper. Are any of you really convinced that the constitution was set forth by perfect men? This isn't just recreational iconoclasm, folks - let's face it - the founding fathers were adulterers, slave owners, and believe it or not, circumventors of their own Constitutional document. For crap sake, we've got the captain of a near genocide on our twenty dollar bill.
So now I've stirred the proverbial hornets nest. My point is this - we have an imperfect system set forth by imperfect men. Despite the flaws of these men and the document they created, our government remains the best system in the world. Why? I believe the element that gives our system its strength is its intrinsic flexibility. In other words, our ability to alter our political machine in order to better serve the masses. So, if you truly have respect for the foundations our ancestors laid down, you have to acknowledge that the best course of action is to make our government work to our best interest, even if that means abandoning the Grand-Old status quo.
It will be a challenge for many rise above the temptation to misconstrue. I am proud to be an American, and I am so sorry that in the 2008, there are those among us who still tote ignorance like their fathers gun. If you disagree, no problem. However, please construct a reasoned argument before you start spewing your knee-jerk Cold War sentiment. If that's too much for you, feel free to slide back into your intellectual cesspool and take a few minutes to collect your thoughts. Dictionary.com is always there for you.
1 comment:
Dear Ben. I chanced upon you blog tonight. My choices for how to spend my evening ranged from finishing my book about Abraham Lincoln, addressing wedding invitations or watching the suns –again- I decided to peruse the thoughts of a loved but distant nephew!!
I am interested with your opinions about the merits of socialism versus capitalism. I nod, I confess somewhat smugly, at the simplified, jaded observations to a complicated, precarious economy.
My heart wrenched and I audibly gasped for breaths at your tortured, thoughtful, honest struggle for meaning and hope during a dark time. Your pain was palpable. Raw. I noticed how you “cite” which of sort made me laugh too!!
I smiled out loud your pictures, off-handed comments and biting humor. Mostly I just wanted to read more, I wanted to be able to express myself like you do, I wanted to find the exact word, the precise sentence fragment, the ironic comment, the enlightened conclusion to an idea, the way you do.
Your honesty draws me in. I don’t know if I am brave enough to write so honestly.
Ben, what you wrote, and how you wrote it, are a gift. Your thought process is brilliant. You need to do this for a living… or at least on a regular basis here on your blog. I await a new entry. Or let me know if you really don't want me to see. Leila
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