Sapere Aude
Aug 26, 2017 · 6 min read

Uh. Yeah. Okay. I would like to share some light for that darkened mind of yours.

First Light.

America, collectively, does not understand ‘socialism’, period. Just ask any Canadian or European — they understand socialism.

If you’re of the mind that “all forms of socialism” are essentially bad, heads-up — you need to move out of this Country, because America is a democracy, and democracy is inherently (a form of) socialism.

Not all forms of democracy are the same, just as all socialism is not the same.

There are many forms of every type of governance. (Not all dictatorships are the same. Okay. Bad example.)

The most common mistake I observe people making is not being able to connect the dots in understanding the difference between socialism and fascism.

When people hear the term/word ‘socialism’, their mind automatically makes the incorrect connection to the likes of Hitler, Mussolini or Franco.

Make no mistake, these leaders did not engage in ANY FORM of socialism.

Rather, it was fascism by which they oppressed their peoples, and by extension, the world.

Did you know that fascism can come in many forms, too?

Capitalism can be a form of fascism when it is not regulated and guided by oversight and controls; leading to things like lead in your drinking water, for example, healthcare and pharmaceuticals turned into an industry instead of a system.

(If you don’t want somebody controlling your healthcare, then it’s time we booted unfettered capitalism out of our healthcare system and regulated the pharmaceutical monopolies.

(Newsflash: Healthcare insurance does not equate to healthcare coverage. The quality and extent of your healthcare is determined by the (privatized interest of) monopoly insurance companies — not your doctor/health practitioner.

(If quality control doesn’t interest or isn’t important to you, then you’re an idiot and not much can be done to help you. — I speak collectively here in using ‘you’.)

There are multiple examples of democratic socialism administrating governments in numerous countries around the world, most notably on the European Continent.

Most of which, btw, are doing it far better than America — sharing their wealth and resources.

But then again those countries have a more refined and mature mentality and mindset.

Over and over again, studies, peer review reports and data collation puts to paper what the empirical evidence demonstrates.

A well-regulated democratic socialist government yields a greater beneficent overall good, and a happier, healthier, well-adjusted and ‘mature’ population.

Poverty rates, joblessness and homeless rates are low to non-existent, and their healthcare systems are consistently superior to ours in every way.

The U.S., by stark contrast, has the highest rates of all of these tragedies, and our healthcare system is the absolute worst, than any other developed country in the world.

Considering we are THE wealthiest nation on Earth, those are not statistics we should be proud of.

If you want more autonomy in your life, then privatization is not the answer. Counterintuitively though it may seem to you, socialism gives you that greater freedom.

Democratic socialism, for instance, provides for and protects your ‘rights’.

Second Light.

Democratic socialism like America’s was meant to place and keep the control and administration of its government in the hands of its people, and not some ambiguous entity of ‘The State’ — or corporately controlled marionette political leaders, either, for that matter.

Socialism isn’t about taking away from you and giving it to someone else. It’s about a unified commitment to insuring basic life necessities and general overall quality of life for everyone.

America’s democratic socialism was further refined and expanded post-WWII by a Republican President, Dwight D. Eisenhower.

(This is a good example of why knowing and understanding history is so vital for your brain and comprehending the world around you.)

President Eisenhower created many, and invested in the expansion of, socialist things like:

highways, Interstate highways, roads, dams, schools, social services, social programs…

(fire/police/paramedic expansions grew more slowly but have become ‘expected’ ‘rights of access and necessary service’)…

hospitals, clinics, libraries, parks (municipal, county, state and federal), water (water treatment), sewer, electricity/utilities, etc., etc., etc.

This infusion of this type of democratic socialism created a boon which led to unparalleled economic growth in/for America.

In fact the Middle Class would not have existed, were it not for the socialism of Eisenhower's ideals.

So, if you are guilty of using ANY of these socialist means or facilities, then you are a hypocrite in your opinion of socialism.

Mostly, though, you are just plain old ignorant.

Third Light.

Most of the time ignorance in and of itself isn’t a problem.

BUT ignorance becomes dangerous when it becomes entrenched in backward and stagnant thinking, when it illogically defends methods proven to be false, and in ideas which generate, harbor and foster opinions that are selfish, self-centered, myopic, narrow-minded, defying logic, reason and evidence at every turn.

An opinion is not knowledge.

It is usually an acquired (heard it somewhere, sounded good, adopted it for your own), or cultured, belief (system).

As an intellectually oriented sentient species, it is our obligation to evolve and become more enlightened.

This means challenging our own opinions and belief systems.

Empirical evidence — that which is self evident — should not be denied, but owned and accepted.

(Empirical evidence was one of the reasons we 'finally’ emerged from the Dark Ages; a time when all the peoples of the world believed the Sun revolved around the Earth, and that the Earth was flat.
(An argument that Socialism is our modern Dark Ages misconception, has merit.)

Human civilization would not exist without the fundamental foundational bond of socialism, community, sharing of wealth and resources.

Fourth and Final Light.

If we do not begin to integrate a more functionally stable sustaining and secure means of sharing resources and wealth in general, we as a species will not evolve.

We must move beyond the old order of king-of-the-hill.

We must instill cooperation rather than competition.

And we must broaden our perspectives and values of/for every human being, every living creature, and every aspect of our world.

For if we do not evolve, if we refuse enlightenment, the consequences will be that we will eventually stagnate and die.

And when we die those causes, which we have created, will very likely spell death for this entire Planet.

Conclusion.

Go back to school.

By this I do not mean a critical criticism, but a constructive criticism.

And though I do not necessarily mean a classroom, that would be a good thing.

Never before has the wealth and breadth of knowledge of every kind been so available and accessible to most human beings.

Sharpen your critical thinking skills (what, how, why, what, when), and your mind will open.

Never stop asking questions; of yourself and the world around you. And don't deny empirical evidence when it reveals itself.

***

“Not to know what happened before you were born is to be a child forever.” - Cicero

“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” - Søren Kierkegaard

“A group of people were travelling in a boat. One of them took a drill and began to drill a hole beneath himself. His companions said to him: "Why are you doing this?" Replied the man: "What concern is it of yours? Am I not drilling under my own place?" Said they to him: "But you will flood the boat for us all!" — Midrash Rabbah, Vayikra 4:6

“I will not attack your doctrines, nor your creeds, if they accord liberty to me. If they hold thought to be dangerous; If they aver that doubt is a crime, Then I attack them one and all, because they enslave the minds of men.” - Robert Green Ingersoll

“We are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right.” George Orwell

“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” - Aldous Huxley

“All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual.” - Albert Einstein

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”

“You should not honor men more than truth.”

“The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself. To be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile.”

- Plato

“Any man is liable to err, only a fool persists in error.” - Marcus Tullius Cicero

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