Mr. Write's Page

A boogeyman is a fictional being, sometimes male, sometimes female, used by adults to frighten children into behaving. The entity is known by a variety of names in cultures around the world.

In Spain, if little Diego doesn’t go to sleep, he is told that El Coco will come in the night and carry him away in a sack. Little Diego’s blood runs cold, and he tries valiantly to fall asleep.

In the US, conservative politicians use the same shtick to frighten right-wing voters. They warn of a vaguely-defined thing called “socialism,” an abomination that will take away Uncle Fred’s rights, freedoms, and way of life. Uncle Fred’s blood runs cold, and he donates money to the GOP.

You, being a level-headed person, no doubt are aware that socialism is not evil per se. Socialism is a point of view — a range of political and economic concepts. I struggle to explain the idea accurately because I haven’t studied economics since my sophomore year in college.

But I’ll try. The crux of socialism is that society itself should be in charge and control things for the common good. To a socialist, the degree of private ownership we have under capitalism is a definite no-no because capitalism is, well, ruthless, selfish, and totally unconcerned about the common good. Capitalism is an I’m for me first concept.

Beyond that, devotees of socialism disagree on the controls and regulations needed, the form of government that works best, etc.

It’s also a fact that the US government freely practices socialism in all sorts of ways. Society is social, so that’s inevitable.

Those socialist programs are quite familiar: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, NPR, PBS, NASA, highways, bridges, dams, garbage collection, health care, food stamps, farm subsidies.

Not to mention public schools, public beaches, public housing, public zoos, public museums, public buses, public landfills, state and national monuments, prisons, the court system.

Plus the VA, the National Weather Service, FEMA, the IRS, the Peace Corps, farm subsidies, Amtrak, student loans, fire and police departments, street lighting, public defenders, the Amber Alert system.

Some of the biggest federal departments are socialistic to the bone: the Departments of Agriculture, Transportation, and Energy, the US military, the FDA, the Postal Service.

You get the picture.

My political beliefs are decidedly liberal, and I believe that the purpose of government should be to share the wealth — to use the public’s money to help the public, leaving nobody behind. To that extent, I reckon I’m pretty much a socialist.

But I’m not a firebrand about it. I’m at the moderate end of the spectrum. In general, I think America has genuine potential, although it needs serious work.

Namely, we need to wrest control of the country from the billionaires. We need to develop better ways to rein in the crooks, cheats, and parasites and focus, honestly and truly, on the common good.

We could start by abolishing the Senate filibuster; taxing the rich with great vigor; cutting the living hell out of military spending; and creating a new “Medicare for all” health care system that cuts out the for-profit corporations and provides full medical care to everyone, period.

That last suggestion is how the health care systems function in half the countries of Europe, so we know it works. We have the template.

As for Uncle Fred, the MAGA crowd, the GOP politicians, and the rest of the conservative world, I say it’s time they put up or shut up.

Some of them may quietly agree that many aspects of socialism are positive. But if they truly believe that socialism is evil incarnate, they need to stick to their principles.

They should refuse to accept Medicare and Social Security. They should resolve never to call 911, because fire and police departments are socialistic by definition.

They shouldn’t use public parks, libraries, or beaches or send their children to public school. And they should drive only on toll roads.

Put up or shut up.