Posted by
Tonewah on Monday, March 10, 2008 10:04:00 PM
We watched it fail in the Soviet Union. We've watched it erode the rights of people in countless small nations. We've seen it degrade humanity into little more than labor slaves. Why, then, is America continuing to embrace socialism as if it's the 'change' we need? Why do we believe socialism is the answer to all our ills?
I believe it starts in the public school system. I can recall, as a public school student, being taught by teachers that a compromise of socialism and democracy were necessary. I could see why the teachers would want students to believe this, and therefore rightly discounted the 'lesson' as propaganda. Of course a teacher is going to say we need a certain degree of socialism; if it weren't for socialism in our country, they'd be getting no paycheck from the government. They'd have to compete in the free market against more qualified and better teachers. It's a conflict of interest, I believe, to allow your children to be taught what political system works by those who have a distinct, monetary interest in socialism.
We started going wrong when we began to require students to be educated by a state controlled agency. Compliance is now mandatory. This precedent means the government can take your children from you and educate them, under penalty of law, if you can't afford to send your kids to a free market, competing school. On top of that, you are also taxed for the education, whether you use it or not. This gives government the authority to indoctrinate, however unintentional.
Many parents see public school, and school in general, as a babysitter. They no longer have to take responsibility for the education of their children, nor do they have to worry about their welfare, as long as the child is in school. The child sees this, and recognizes the authority the state has taken from the parent by the parent giving up educational responsibility. The child loses respect for their parent, and gains respect for the state. They still value and cherish the parent just as much, but they respect the authority of the state more. The babysitter/nanny has become the ultimate authority.
After spending 13 years in K-12 public school, the child now sees government as provider. For over three quarters of his or her life, the child has been a virtual ward of the state, doing training work required by government employees. When the student graduates, he or she is now an adult who's entire cognizant life has been spent as an unpaid government employee undergoing training. It stands to reason that this student now expects to have government influence and guidance. The child, weaned on socialism, has become open to socialist ideology, whether s/he understands this or not.
We now have allowed a centralized government to control most of the important aspects of our lives. Our incomes are controlled by the government via minimum wages, income tax, and subsidies to the companies that employ us. Our speech is controlled by laws and social mores inforced by legislation and government aid. We suffer from direct and indirect socialism through our education system and through the influence our government wields by it's distribution of aid. We're slowly leeching away our freedom as we continue to give responsiblity to the government.
If we are to have any sort of real change in our country, we need to restore the true democratic beliefs we once held, before we started to give up and resort to socialism. This change must start with education. The youth will be the torch-bearers of the future. It's up to us to determine whether the torch they bear is one of freedom and Liberty, or one of false hope through government control.