Meeting Persephone

I did forget to mention in my update that I've received a request. I've been asked to leave the country and promise never to return based on my political position. I'm a socialist. I was asked to leave the country by someone I dare to label as relatively conservative - relative to me anyway. I do not know what his political affiliation is and I won't stoop to assume. Suffice it to say that based on his military service and years of hard work to achieve some sort of standard of living for himself and his family, he finds it perfectly within his rights to demand that I get the hell outta his country and never return. He was even so gracious as to offer up his frequent flyer miles in order to expedite my exit from the US. It was a very generous offer and one I'd have likely jumped on if it weren't for one small thing - I'd like to wait until Mini Me graduates from high school before I leave the country. I wonder if his offer would still apply in a year and a half?

I've learned something over the couple of years since the election of 2008 was in full force and that is this: People do not know what socialism really is. At the present time it's come to be little more than a buzz word used to terrify the more conservative members of the society. It is always used interchangeably with communism. Glenn Beck does not know what socialism is so he cannot be trusted to explain it accurately though he and Rush Limbaugh seem to be the ones most people are getting their definition from. In order to understand socialism as it really is one would have to read socialist literature and most people don't seem to be willing to do this. It's far easier to make assumptions. The other option would be to ask a socialist but it seems to be more appealing to the right-wing to make accusations and assume the evil that Beck and Limbaugh attribute to these ideals is accurate enough for them.

It is for this reason that I've decided to explain at least a bit of what makes me a socialist and what it means to me. Not that anyone cares, but it's something I'd like to get out there for myself. I also want to answer the man who'd like me to leave "his" country. But first things first...

The main points of socialism for me are thus:

• Human beings should own their own labor rather than rent it away to CEOs.
• Taking care of the entire community benefits everyone in the community.
• The wealthy should be taxed at a higher rate.

That is certainly not the whole of socialism. They are just a few of the main points that I wanted to focus on.

How do people own their labor? They own their companies. I do not mean "business owners". I'm not referring to small business owners here who buy a business and then hire people to work for them. What I am talking about is cooperative ownership of business. Those who own the company are the workers. The government does not own the companies.

With our taxes we pay for teachers and schools, roads, police, fire departments, libraries, politicians salaries (and health care), government aid to those that need it, parks, water, sewer, and other things that we'd all be very unhappy to lose - well maybe not politicians but the rest would anger people if they were taken away. Everyone beneifts from these things - or at least has the right to them even if they choose not to or have no need to utilize them for whatever reason. Not everyone has children in school yet their tax dollars contribute to those costs. Not everyone has had to call on the police or the fire department but if the need were there they would be entitled to those service like anyone else.

The same should be said for health care. We take care of you because we believe you would want to do the same for us. I loathe the idea of people losing their homes/families/property because of their inability to pay for their medical care. If we viewed other social programs in the same way we do health care only the extremely wealthy would be safe if a fire struck their home or if a burglar were to break in because they would be the only ones able to pay. We would be outraged if someone even suggested this as a possibility! The destitute would be in far larger numbers than they are if this type of thinking came to pass. Yet we think nothing of the idea that if you're sick it's your problem. Be it a genetic disease or the common cold (which you've most likely caught from someone else) it's on you to worry about. You're on your own. Imagine saying that very thing to someone whose home caught fire because their neighbor's home was already burning. Their neighbor had paid for fire insurance and so the fire department showed up and extinguished the flames and then proceeded to stand by and watch as your home burned to the ground because you did not pay for fire insurance. But those who are ill are blamed for their own illness and expected to take care of themselves. We don't like taking care of you. And if we end up in the same situation we'll take care of ourselves - if we can. Except that most people really don't realize the cost of health care. If it were a national health care plan there would be less bureaucracy and everyone would simply be covered. The wealthy, if they wish, could pay for their own private health care as long as they were contributing to the national health care plan via higher taxes as well.

There was a time in this country when the tax rate for the wealthy was 90%. I don't believe that we would have need to climb to that rate. They could afford to pay a great deal more than they are at present though. Those who disagree with me refer to taxes as "theft" and call it "stealing" the wealthy's money. Using the examples I provided above it's obvious why I don't agree. Taxes are a fact of life no matter where you live. If they can be used for the greater good then they serve a noble cause. This is not hatred of the wealthy - it's common sense. They have more and can afford to contribute more. If they are simply left to give what they want to those they feel are qualified to receive their good graces they are just as likely to not give. Whether it's judged fair by you or not, the reality is that the wealthy would still remain very well even with high tax rates and would be forced to make few adjustments to their lifestyles.

The root word of capitalism is capital. This is a reference to a strictly profit seeking form of financial system. The root word of socialism is social which refers to the society. And the root word of communism refers to community. I find no insult in being called a socialist because this is what I am. I find no insult in being called a communist because, while inaccurate, it's closer to my beliefs than capitalism. Someone - I know not who it is - paid to have a billboard put up just off the exit to my town. It reads simply: Marxist. There is no explanation just the word 'Marxist'. Considering the town I live in I choose to believe - even though it's probably not true - this sign was put there for me and it makes me grin every time I see it.

And now to briefly address the person who requests my exit from the US. I really only have one thing to say. To tout your service in the military is fine. To assume that volunteering to serve somehow makes you more of a citizen than someone who did not, while typical, is untrue. To claim to have fought for freedom and then demand that someone outside of your specific ideas leave this country and promise never to return is the antithesis of freedom - it is fascism. You'd do well to understand that. And educate yourself on socialism - it's not interchangeable with communism and therefore Vietnam, China, and Cuba are not socialist countries - they are communist and China is becoming more capitalist by the minute.

The Trash Heap has spoken.