Will Socialism Make America Better?

It's apparent that lots of people, perhaps nearly half the country, believe that America has failed them. To them the American Dream is a fallacy, and only exists for a select few.  And that select few in their view, have amassed their wealth by lying, cheating and stealing from everyone else.  They believe that the only way to end this American Nightmare is to radically transform the country by upending our values, system of government and way of life.  These are the people who cheer on Bernie Sanders, the democratic socialist, when he says that America can only become better by being more like Denmark or Sweden or any other socialist country.

A different crowd, but the same people, beam with pride when Hillary Clinton shifts into high socialist gear, assuring the crowd that she can teach Bernie Sanders a thing or two when it comes to central planning.  These are the people who will vote for any candidate that promises to greatly expand the government and its power over our lives.  Like hungry little birds, they flutter with excitement at the thought of  receiving "free" this or "free" that from big government. And I'm sure they get all tingly when they hear the "r" word (redistribution).

In a sense, I understand how they became champions of socialism.  Looking at the country today, it's apparent that many people are struggling. The economy sucks.  Wages are stagnant. College is too expensive. Underemployment is real. And far too many politicians (on both sides of the aisle) have pledged their loyalties to special interests instead of to the American people. In short, the nation is in trouble, big trouble. But failing institutions, be they financial, political, social or what have you, are just that, failing institutions. However, the heart and soul of America is not its institutions, its the American people.

Unfortunately, too many Americans are being seduced by the hypnotic incantations of socialist fairies whose desire is for Americans to exorcise the one thing that has made this country great, and that's
the American Spirit (exorcise, because they see the American Spirit as evil).  These seemingly harmless little fairies fully understand what too many of us have forgotten--the American Spirit, fueled by hope and liberty, is what distinguishes us among other nations.  It's why we've been able to do the exceptional. It's the DNA of American ingenuity.  And it's why we've been a self-correcting nation. We are ingrained with the American Spirit.  In fact, the country was started by people who wanted to live, worship and indulge their hopes and dreams without the heavy hand of government pressing down on them. The America Spirit was borne out of  this country being the only one in the history of the world that was founded on ideas, not identity. Those ideas have stood the test of time and they're why in America you can start life without advantages and live a life with many advantages.  It's why you can choose to do what you want, or if you change your mind, you can do something else.  It's why people continue to come from the world over to experience the American Dream.

I'm sure that this kind of pro-American talk rubs many people the wrong way.  That's because we've become accustomed to a steady diet of anti-Americanism, which often comes in the form of revisionist history or even outright lies (such as America colonized African countries).  But in these difficult times, no group is better equipped to resist the trickery of socialist fairies than Americans who understand that their nation's soul is at stake.  Will it be easy?  No. Socialist fairies are very clever.  They beguile their supporters by praising them for being fair-minded and caring, while demonizing their targets. But they are most cunning when they extol the virtues of a transformed America, one with limitless government largesse and an array of controls over its populace. And to ensure that no one questions their schemes, socialist fairies always sprinkle plenty of  "it's for the good of everyone" dust.

So what about Denmark?  Bernie Sanders wants us to believe that it's the epitome of a great land.  Well, I guess that depends on what you define as great.  In Denmark, citizens are required to turn over more than half their paycheck to the government.  Denmark has the highest tax obligation in the world and the smallest private sector in Europe. Yes, the Danes get free college, free healthcare and an assortment of other freebies. Yet, with all their tuition-free college educations, there's a dearth of graduates with science or engineering degrees.  One reason is because students, not having to concern themselves with paying for their education take less challenging (and less useful) "fulfillment" courses,  Denmark is indeed quite generous (it's taxpayers that is).  If you don't want a job or are unable to work, that's okay because the unemployed and the unemployable have an income (from the government) that's higher than the incomes of full-time employees in the private sector in many European countries. To me, Denmark seems to have created a great incentive to aspire to do nothing, but wait on the government. By the way, citizens in Denmark (and Sweden) aggressively report their neighbors and others to the government if they believe they're cheating on their taxes (perhaps by running a small business or providing services and not reporting the taxes).  To be sure, no one should cheat on their taxes, but I suspect the Danes are so diligent about the government squeezing out every dime it can get because those freebies come courtesy of tax dollars. Is this really the America you want?  I know I don't.  Interestingly, Denmark is beginning to experience some issues with income disparity (gasp!) and recently kicked their socialist democrats out of office.

So let's not get it twisted. America can only get better if we fight to change our failing institutions and our expanding government, not ourselves.