Americans love to use the word “hero.” We love to acknowledge a certain greatness in our nation as well as those who embody that greatness such as our soldiers, police and firefighters. The good they do and the service they willingly provide for all of us more than earns the title of hero.
Another word that has also gained recent popularity is socialism. It seems to pop up somewhere on a daily basis. Grassroots organizations such as the Tea Party have given socialism a lot of attention. And, while admittedly not as entirely extreme as the media has presented them as, it is difficult to deny that many who attend their events bear signs and chant slogans of anti-socialist nature.
I hate to give him any press, but TV personality Glenn Beck has given extensive attention to his perceived socialist threat. For some time now he has hammered into his audience his view of socialism and its un-American character that has menaced nations and societies throughout history, including our own.
Unlike “hero,” socialism isn’t usually presented in such a positive light, usually garnering disapproving implications as it travels across our spheres of influence.
It is quite understandable why it is looked down upon. History provides us a great number of examples of socialist horrors—perhaps the most famous being the National Socialist German Workers’ Party of Hitler’s Germany. But relying upon such tragic examples only offers a very narrow view on a rather extensive subject.
Socialism is a rather broad notion and can be applied a number of areas such as economics or social programs. It is easy to overlook the reality that our country is, and has been for some time, very socialized to some degree, and without presenting any harm.
If we were to banish all traces of socialized functions in our country, we would find a lot of our cherished and honored heroes out of work. The police who protect us, and the firemen who save us, and our property, are the result of socialized programs.
Beck may be horrified to know our neighborhood libraries are socialized—the centers that edify our society, and the sole source of Beck’s enlightened education as he confessed during his 2010 keynote CPAC speech. “I educated myself,” Beck said. “I went to the library—books are free.” Actually, and coming as no surprise, Beck was wrong. Those books weren’t and aren’t free—they were paid for by Beck, and by you and me, from the taxes we contributed.
These social advantages aren’t something we have to do. Rather, they are something we choose to do because at some point our society realized they benefit us all for having them.
Perhaps the biggest and most influential socialized part of our American society, one that very easily is forgotten, is our heroes in uniform—our soldiers. The United States’ military is highly socialized. My own family benefited from this system, as have many others. Our military has a variety of advantages afforded to them such as education, training, housing, healthcare and retirement, among others.
The armed forces in turn provide us all with the benefit of national security, protection and aide in times of crisis such as natural disasters. We all profit from advances in technology or medicine that the military produces regularly. The GPS that guides your travels is one example of technology the military has provided us with.
Does this all mean that socialism is an answer to everything—that we should transform every aspect of our lives into a socialist program? Not at all, and that is not what I am suggesting; rather it just has its place, and is not the boogieman many would have you believe it to be.
Instead of plastering a negative connotation over every stretch of social benefits we use, try not to forget that the highways and roads you travel upon, the national forests you hike and camp in, the cash you pay with, or perhaps even the credit union you use, are all brought to you by American socialized programs.