These Are Dangerous Times

[genuineoriginal]

I like our highway system.
I like our road crews.
I am thankful for police and fire departments.
The GI bill.
Garbage collection.
The post office--Where else can you send a letter across the country for small change and have it arrive in two days?
Medicare.
Those Tea Party people held up signs that said “Get the government’s hands off my Medicare!”
That was our private joke. The government runs Medicare!

Of the things you listed, only Medicare comes from Socialism.

 

[glorydaz]

This is scary stuff!

And it's about to get scarier, genuine original, because I have some terrifying news for you....

Socialism is alive and well in America and it has been here for a very long time!

Oh, that's not all.
It gets much worse!
I hope you're sitting down...

As it turns out, You love socialism and you use it everyday. But you don’t even know it.
It may have even saved your life. I know, this is bad...

Now relax and breathe. It's going to be okay! We are going to get through this.

You see, we are still a capitalist nation. In America, you can still make a billion dollars, get a giant tax cut, and pay your employees barely enough to survive while you sail in your yacht to escape any guilt that might inconvenience you. So don't freak out just yet!

The thing is, socialism is all over America and people actually like it. Even you... Yes you!

Our military, insurance pools, police and fire, our highway system, public schools, our jails and prisons, etc.

ALL BASED ON A SOCIALIST MODEL.

I see you live in LaLa Land.

 

[SabathMoon]

Of the things you listed, only Medicare comes from Socialism.

Medicaid seems to be from socialism too, try getting it a communist country.

 

[Jacob]

I am on Medicaid and Medicare and I am not a Socialist. However, I am on Medication and I do not believe that I should be on any of this.

 

[aikido7]

I see you live in LaLa Land.

At times I definitely do. I love to sleep and even after going to bed at 9pm, I sometimes sleep until 10am.

I’m not one of those guys who sleeps like “SNORE, GASP, GRUNT.”

I sleep like “Hmmmmm.... Uhhhhhh... Mmmmmm..."

 

[aikido7]

Of the things you listed, only Medicare comes from Socialism.

I have a difference of opinion.



Our military people have free healthcare, daycare, housing, food, education and a close community of people unlike anyone else. the U.S. Our military displays a successful socialist model that is often overlooked in political conversations on the right.

Don’t take my word for it. Check it out. Don’t take anyone’s word for anything.

Be unafraid to follow the truth wherever it leads you.

 

[aikido7]

They were Democrats.


About Democrats?

I think more conservatives live in the South than liberals do.
Liberals tend to congregate along both coasts. Those are the places where foreign traders have arrived since our nation was founded.

You will find more diversity in people, cultures, and religions near the oceans.

 

[aikido7]

I have a difference of opinion.

Our military people have free healthcare, daycare, housing, food, education and a close community of people unlike anyone else. The U.S. Our military displays a successful socialist model that is often overlooked in political conversations on the right.

Members of the armed forces have access to government services that civilians are not eligible to receive.

You’d be hard pressed to find any soldier that would prefer to seek them on the free market.

Don’t take my word for it. Check it out. Don’t take anyone’s word for anything.

Be unafraid to follow the truth wherever it leads you.

 

[ok doser]

Our military displays a successful socialist model ...

in what way does the US military meet the following requirements?

Socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership and workers' self-management of the means of production[10] as well as the political theories and movements associated with them.[11] Social ownership can be public, collective or cooperative ownership, or citizen ownership of equity.[12]

do soldiers self-manage their work schedules and assignments?

There are many varieties of socialism and there is no single definition encapsulating all of them,[13] with social ownership being the common element shared by its various forms.

do soldiers own the equipment they use?

 

[aikido7]

in what way does the US military meet the following requirements?

Socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership and workers' self-management of the means of production[10] as well as the political theories and movements associated with them.[11] Social ownership can be public, collective or cooperative ownership, or citizen ownership of equity.[12]

do soldiers self-manage their work schedules and assignments?

There are many varieties of socialism and there is no single definition encapsulating all of them, with social ownership being the common element shared by its various forms.

do soldiers own the equipment they use?

No they do not.

Again, it’s easy to get lost in the details. Sometimes recognizing the bigger picture is helpful.

Just because the Book of Acts favors a nascent Marxism [“Hold all things in commmon” Acts 4:32] does not necessarily mean that Paul’s plan for a communist-like early Christian community does not then mean that early Christian groups were wedded to historical, dialectical materialism. They had no access to Hegel, who provided the foundational springboard of Marxist ideas.

The military is socialist because it depends on socialist ideas for its structure.
Military socialism has nothing to do with paychecks or wage scaless.


IT’S ALL PART OF THANKING OUR TROOPS FOR THEIR SERVICE.

The left has been calling for single payer healthcare for decades.
Meanwhile, all active military members are guaranteed universal healthcare for themselves and their immediate families. And when they leave active duty service, many are eligible for VA healthcare for the rest of the lives.

Female service members and military spouses receive free pre-natal care and members of both genders receive paid leave after their child is born. Subsidized or free childcare is also available for members on many active duty bases.

There is the overall structure and contrasted with that are the various individual details embedded in that system.

I studied civics in junior high school and politcal science in collage.
I am now very aware and quite comfortable with different versions of political philosophies [based on either an economic system, a type of society, a philosophical stance, a collection of moral values and ideals, or even a certain kind of human character.
Socialism, capitalism or socialism are expressed and lived out in many, many different ways.

I am sure you yourself can find these same ideas on line.

 

[ok doser]

perhaps this would be more productive if you supplied a definition of socialism

then we could see if the structures you're claiming are socialist fit the definition

 

[aikido7]

perhaps this would be more productive if you supplied a definition of socialism

then we could see if the structures you're claiming are socialist fit the definition

I think this task will turn out to be difficult.
Socialism means many different things to different people.
And there are thousands of different kinds of socialism.

Obama was first called a socialist by Bill Sammon, the Washington, D.C. political editor for FOX “News.”
He later admitted he had made the comparison “as a joke.”
It actually meant nothing, he claimed.

https://www.businessinsider.com/obama-socialist-fox-exec-sammon-2011-3

So we can safely assumed that some definitions of socialism are concocted on the spot.

 

[ok doser]

Socialism means many different things to different people.

right, that's why i like to go back to basics - the dictionary, for example

this one is very simple:

socialism

n
1. a political theory advocating state ownership of industry


2. an economic system based on state ownership of capital


https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/socialism

"state ownership of industry" - the military model fits this definition

"state ownership of capital" - the military model does not fit this definition

so, yes, some aspects of the military are socialist in nature

others aren't


similarly with roads, etc

 

[aikido7]

right, that's why i like to go back to basics - the dictionary, for example

this one is very simple:



"state ownership of industry" - the military model fits this definition

"state ownership of capital" - the military model does not fit this definition

so, yes, some aspects of the military are socialist in nature

others aren't


similarly with roads, etc

Thanks for that.

 

[The Barbarian]

Quote Originally Posted by aikido7 View Post
Get educated?

The southern red states are the same states that were in favor of enslaving people in the 17 & the 1800’s.

They were Democrats.

Conservative democrats. Now, they are conservative republicans. They switched parties, but not principles.

Quote Originally Posted by aikido7 View Post
These states have the lowest IQs, the poorest Americans, the most unhealthy, the highest drop-out rates, high rates of teen pregnancy, low graduation numbers...

What does this tell you?

That their states are run by conservatives.

 

[aikido7]

I think you might be right.

 

[Choleric]

Quote Originally Posted by aikido7 View Post
Get educated?

The southern red states are the same states that were in favor of enslaving people in the 17 & the 1800’s.



Conservative democrats. Now, they are conservative republicans. They switched parties, but not principles.

Awe, been gone a while but some things never change. So nice to see you still twisting truth Barbarella. Hope all is well.

That their states are run by conservatives.

Are you still a Demonrat? C'mon barbie, have some decency.

 

[jgarden]

And the government is to blame, says John W. Whitehead.

“As I look at America today, I am not afraid to say that I am afraid.”—Bertram Gross, Friendly Fascism: The New Face of Power in America

These are dangerous times.

Mind you, when I say that these are dangerous times, it is not because of violent crime, which remains at an all-time low, or because of terrorism, which is statistically rare, or because our borders are being invaded by armies, which data reports from the Department of Homeland Security refute.

Consider for yourself.

Americans have no protection against police abuse.

Americans are little more than pocketbooks to fund the police state.

Americans are no longer innocent until proven guilty.

Americans no longer have a right to self-defense.

Americans no longer have a right to private property.

Americans no longer have a say about what their children are exposed to in school.

Americans are powerless in the face of militarized police.

Americans no longer have a right to bodily integrity.

Americans no longer have a right to the expectation of privacy.

Americans no longer have a representative government.

Americans can no longer rely on the courts to mete out justice.

Essentially, there are four camps of thought among the citizenry when it comes to holding the government accountable. Which camp you fall into says a lot about your view of government—or, at least, your view of whichever administration happens to be in power at the time.

In the first camp are those who trust the government to do the right thing, despite the government’s repeated failures in this department.

In the second camp are those who not only don’t trust the government but think the government is out to get them.

In the third camp are those who see government neither as an angel nor a devil, but merely as an entity that needs to be controlled, or as Thomas Jefferson phrased it, bound “down from mischief with the chains of the Constitution.”

Then there’s the fourth camp, comprised of individuals who pay little to no attention to the workings of government. Easily entertained, easily distracted, easily led, these are the ones who make the government’s job far easier than it should be.


"The views above may or may not reflect the views of DRBrumley, but are intended for debate"

Perhaps "rbrumley" will enlighten us as to when this "golden" age in American history existed whereby citizens supposedly enjoyed all these rights that they now have lost?

 

[The Barbarian]

Perhaps "rbrumley" will enlighten us as to when this "golden" age in American history existed whereby citizens supposedly enjoyed all these rights that they now have lost?

There were always abuses in America, and in some ways, such as racism, it was worse years ago than it is now. But Brumley is largely correct. For example, there was always Gerrymandering, but not to the degree we see now. When crooked politicians rig districts so that the minority elects a majority of representatives, then we don't have representative government.

Every generation has to fight in some way to maintain our freedoms. There are always those in goverment, or hoping to be in government, who are ready to take them from us in the name of security.

 

[jgarden]

There were always abuses in America, and in some ways, such as racism, it was worse years ago than it is now. But Brumley is largely correct. For example, there was always Gerrymandering, but not to the degree we see now. When crooked politicians rig districts so that the minority elects a majority of representatives, then we don't have representative government.

Every generation has to fight in some way to maintain our freedoms. There are always those in goverment, or hoping to be in government, who are ready to take them from us in the name of security.

Was it actually better during the "good old days" or does living in the "information age" make us all just that much more aware of the apparent "deficiencies" in American democracy - people aren't lined up at the borders requesting US citizenship because they view this nation as a failed "experiment!"

I contend that the more "deficiencies" that are brought to the public's attention, the more critical we become - with the many positives that we take for granted being pushed aside!