Progressives

What is a socialist? by Patrice Lewis

1. Socialists believe in the use of force to gain their personal ends. Whether it's light bulbs or alternative energy or public schools or national health care, in the end there's always a gun at your head to get you to conform. If a man holds you up in the street, does it matter if he wants the money for drugs or to bail out someone's mortgage? It's still a gun, and it's still armed robbery.

2. Socialists believe in slavery. Their concept is not the slavery of an individual owning another individual, but of a state owning the output of the individual. We are now forced to work four months out of the year for the federal government before we see a dime of our own income, and it's getting worse. Our new administration has just indebted every family an additional $11,000 without our permission or approval. This is economic slavery. (If you don't believe me, watch what happens if you don't pay your taxes. See No. 1 above.)

3. Socialists are racists. The content of the character doesn't matter; it's all about the color of the skin. Read the e-mail I received in response to last week's column, in which the writer somehow made the extraordinary leap in logic from my premise of government fiscal irresponsibility to William Byrd whipping slaves three centuries ago. Yes, Byrd was a nasty man. But what on earth did that have to do with the topic of my column? This illustrates that socialists will always bring up the subject of race, regardless of the prevailing drift of the conversation.

Most people tend to look at the content of peoples' character rather than the color of their skin. If someone is honest, hardworking and decent, then who cares what he looks like? But if they're angry, abusive and violent … then sorry, the content of their character is demonstrating that they're not people to associate with, regardless of skin color. Conservatives – true conservatives – really don't give a diddly darn about someone's melanin content. As columnist Burt Prelutsky put it, "… most white Americans don't spend a lot of time dwelling on anyone's race. They're much too busy trying to make a living and raise their kids."

4. Socialists believe the worst in everyone. They believe that we are all racists, therefore racism must be shoved in our faces constantly. They believe we are stingy, so we must have our money forcibly removed and redistributed to others. They believe we are heartless and that the only source of compassion is the government, so compassion becomes government-mandated.

5. Socialists think religion, especially Christianity, is stupid and nothing but a prop for the unwashed masses. Why else would they forbid expressions of faith anywhere except (grudgingly) within the walls of a church? Religious people are seen as uneducated, primitive, bitterly-clinging troglodytes.

6. Socialists believe in an ignorant society. How else can we explain their slavish devotion to a public school system that is so dumbed down that students can't read their own diplomas? Socialists know an ignorant society is good. Useful idiots are more amenable to dominance than citizens who have read and understood the documents of the Founding Fathers.

7. Socialists believe you have no right of self-defense. They don't even want you to talk about it in a school assignment. They pretend to have utter faith that government agents can protect you from any and all harm. In reality, it's the government agents that are among our biggest threats. What socialists are really concerned about is your ability to defend yourself against them.

8. Socialists are intolerant. If you have a dissenting opinion, you are mocked and ridiculed for having the temerity to disagree. Socialists do not believe in freedom of speech or they wouldn't be concerned about Rush Limbaugh or what ministers say from the pulpit.

9. Socialists are hypocrites. They expect the unwashed masses to conform to their ideals while they, the lofty and elite, are exempt. How else can you explain Al Gore's energy-sucking mansion? How else can they claim conservative talk radio or Internet news is too powerful when socialists dominate the newspaper and television media?

10. Above all, socialists are in denial. No matter how much you point out the obvious – that the government is fulfilling the dictionary definition of socialism – they flat deny it. If you point out the horrors of socialized medicine, for example, a socialist will say "But this time it will be different." Socialists are unconcerned that the government holds 40 percent of Citibank and over 80 percent of AIG. Nancy Pelosi assures us that government takeovers of banks should be "transitional" but not permanent, and Steny Hoyer hesitates "to use the word nationalization." You'll notice they don't deny it's a government takeover. They merely refuse to call a duck a duck. Quack quack.