Schooling Trump, and the Right, On Socialism, Again

I DIDN'T WATCH THE State of the Union address, content to get the summary on National Public Radio. On NPR, there is no need to adjust the color on the flat screen to account for orange hair, or the sound, to account for shrill screeching. Apparently, though, the president launched a verbal salvo against "socialism", whatever he might think socialism is. If I'm not mistaken, he said that the United States will never become a socialist country, that socialism does not work, and he may have even included all the tired old platitudes; that socialism has never worked anywhere in the world where it has been tried, that it destroys freedom, is satanic, does not glorify Christ of God, and is the very antithesis of goodness. I have spent many years asking myself, and others: what, precisely, do American conservative Christians think socialism is? It has become apparent that they truly think it is all the above. Socialism is, of course, cooperative economics, rather then competitive economics, which is capitalism. Cooperation is organized through government, often democratically, with everyone's participation in the political process allowed, even encouraged, like it is, for instance, in Europe, where all the countries are socialist countries. In socialism, freedom is shaped and limited by the constraints of democratic socialism, while in capitalism freedom is limited by the constraints of corporate capitalism. In either system, socialism or capitalism, there are limits to freedom, and there is freedom. Every business or corporation I have ever heard of is a dictatorial tyranny, not a democracy. The ownership has absolute power, and whatever power the works have they have only because of limits imposed upon corporate ownership by government. Workplace democracy has not arrived in America, but may well soon; the natives are restless, and AOC is loose upon the land. Government, contrary to what right wing free enterprisers will tell you, more often guarantees and protects freedom than destroying it. In many ways there smore individual freedoms in democratic socialism than in corporate capitalism. The United States is a socialist country, and also a capitalist country. the two work quite well together, as America proves. Socialism has already come to America, evidently without the Christian conservative community even knowing it, proving that socialism must not be taking away any of their freedoms, for if it were, surely even these largely oblivious people would realize it, although perhaps sluggishly and belatedly. Socialism works wonderfully well in the United States, and all across Europe. The list of successful socialism in America is long, but here are a few examples: local police and fire departments. Local streets, state and federal highways, and bridges. Public libraries. Public colleges and universities. Medicare, Medicaid, and social Security. The National Park system and service. Public school systems. And that is only the beginning, only a few examples of democratic socialism in a country (U.S.A.) which is partly democratic democratic socialism and part tyrannical corporate capitalism. Socialism means owned, maintained, operated, and financed publicly, with the government doing the work on behalf of the people. Minimum wage is socialistic. Work place regulation, the forty hour work week, environmental protection regulation, patent and copyright protection, bankruptcy law, anti trust laws, the process of incorporation itself, which are all government mandated and protected, are examples of socialism becoming involved in capitalism to prevent capitalism from destroying itself through the formation of monopolies. Donald Trump, and every other anti socialist conservative in America, not only lives in a country full of socialism, but has benefitted from and received protection through socialism. When these people say that "socialism doesn't work", that it "must be kept out of America", and that it is dictatorial and non Christian, they are revealing that they do not understand the teachings of Jesus, who was a hard core wealth redistributing socialist, who said "render unto Caesar" and "give unto the poor". America's Christian conservative community, by condemning socialism, is revealing its ignorance, stupidity, and unwitting opposition to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Also, they don't know a good thing when they see it, or refuse to see it.