In talking to friends and family members, I’ve been shocked to hear that question from educated, well-intentioned, kind people. They honestly don’t know what’s so bad about socialism. Let me just say, that floors me. It honestly floors me. Whenever those five words escape their lips, I’m literally so shocked it takes me a minute to pick my jaw back up off the floor, crank my brain back up, and start explaining why it’s just so terrible. But there’s just so much to convey, just so much evidence against it, that it’s almost like you don’t know where to start. I want to just scream, don’t you even look at history?! Don’t you see the hundreds of thousands of Americans who came before you who gave their lives to stop the spread of socialism and communism, because they knew that it had never worked? Don’t you see that of all the displaced peoples in this world, the vast majority of them are running away from socialism, not running toward it? Don’t you see that throughout history, every single time socialism has ever been implemented, it turns into absolute tyranny? What makes us so arrogant, so pompous, so self-righteous, that we think we can contradict all of history that has come before us? Isn’t that old saying always ‘pride cometh before the fall’? That’s never more true than when a nation begins to accept socialism despite all the evidence to the contrary that history has laid before us. Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it; accepting socialism is nothing short of pride convincing us to ignore the lessons of history.
But that said, John McCain gave an interview today where he explained it in his own words. I thought I’d share them with you, as evidence that at least someone out there in Washington understands this. Again, I’m not pro-McCain, I don’t agree with him on a lot of things. But on this, I agree with him 100%.
HOST: Senator McCain, I hear people actually write me, say to me — I have a sister who said to me, “You know what, what’s the big deal with socialism. So what. He’s socialist. Why is that bad.” Could you please explain why socialism is bad?
SENATOR McCAIN: It doesn’t work, number one. It’s been tried many times. Second of all, redistributing the wealth creates disincentives to entrepreneurship, capitalism, small business, free enterprise. If people know that their hard earned — the fruits of their hard earned labor are going to be taken from them and given to others, then they are obviously going to have disincentives to work. The fundamentals of the free enterprise system is that less government is the best government. Now, there are times for government, in emergencies, in wars and, you know, many other areas where we can interpret it, but the fact is that government should let free enterprise, small business and capitalism function and, of course, it has to be — has to have regulation. Of course there has to be transparency. Of course Teddy Roosevelt was right where he said unbridled capitalism leads to corruption. But let’s not take people’s hard earned money that they worked to save and pass on to their children or build their businesses, let’s not take it away from them and give it to others. That’s — socialism is antithetical to progress and job creation and wealth, progress for all of society.
Full interview
Please, any of you out there who think that maybe socialism just might work, get your head out of your textbooks and look at the real world. Look at the unfettered harsh reality of history, look at the people socialism has so mercilessly harmed. Look at the good that the United States has done for this world in protecting those who have been victimized by socialism and communism. Look at the lives it has ended, the dignity it has destroyed, the villains it has produced. Then ask yourself, do you really trust anyone enough to give them that degree of power over you? Should anyone be subjugated in such a fashion? Is anyone in this imperfect world righteous enough for such power as is granted under the socialist system?
Are you really that pleased with the behavior and responsibility of your government that you would ever wish to give it any additional power over you, your life, and your family?
This nation was founded as a beacon of hope for the rest of the world, a beacon of freedom, equality, and liberty. We hear those words so often that it is so easy to forget what they really mean. It’s not freedom from offense or freedom from responsibility! It’s freedom to make your own choices about your own life and the life of your family. It’s the equality for all to seek after life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Yes, we haven’t always been perfect at the whole equality thing, but we’re improving, we’re striving, we have good intentions! Don’t sacrifice those for tyranny.
But most importantly of all, we have the liberty to guide our own lives. We have the liberty to succeed by our own hard work and determination. But just as importantly, we have the liberty to fail, for without failure there will never be success. We have the freedom and the liberty to fail so spectacularly that we then pick ourselves up, dust off our hands and knees, and get back up again to try for the real American dream. The American dream does not guarantee success for all, it only guarantees the opportunity to strive for it. Not all of us are going to make it, but isn’t it a beautiful feeling to know that all of us could if we wanted to? It is up to us, the people, as individuals, to determine who makes it. It’s up to our own hard work, grit, and determination! Not the government, not our representatives. Whenever they stand in our way, they are at fault, not us. They must be chastised, not us. We’re not the problem, they are. So why would we give them any more power to restrict our liberties, our equality, or our freedoms?
Yes, socialism may offer some aspects of equality, but again, get your head out of a textbook and look at the reality of history! The only equality it offers is to equally wallow in misery. According to socialism, we will only be truly equal when we are all equally poor, downtrodden, miserable, and at the hand of a merciless tyrant. That is not freedom, that is not liberty, and we must not accept it in this country. We are one of the last hold outs of true freedom on earth. So many nations across this planet have accepted just a pinch of socialism here, a pinch of socialism there, until they are so swallowed up in it they have nowhere else to go. We have the opportunity right here, right now, to say no more. We have been walking down that path long enough, but so very soon we may get to the point where we no longer have a choice. We may get to the point where there are no more forks in the road, but rather we’re stuck on a one-way thoroughfare to socialism. Please, don’t get to that point, don’t let our nation go so far down that road that we can’t turn back. We need to scale back our government now more than ever, because it’s their fault that so many people are out of their homes, it’s their fault that our economy is in such turmoil, it’s their fault that our stock market is in shambles. It’s their fault, not ours.
So please, do not give them any more power over you. Do not invite that into your home, your country. Do not give up your opportunity to fail, because if you do, you will no longer have an opportunity to succeed.
