Socialist Propaganda

A casual Facebook friend isn't political all that often, but when she is she's pretty rabidly conservative. I'm afraid I did a little bit of fight picking last week, although she never really responded. One of her status updates was: (stole from ____ _____)-Managed healthcare by an obese surgeon general, passed by a congress that hasn't read it, signed by a president that smokes, administered by a treasury chief who didn’t pay taxes and financed by a country that is broke - what could possibly go wrong? I commented twice:

I might say something along the same lines but much more mildly and in less absolute terms, but since we're stealing I just read this comment in a thread on a Mother Jones article: "Americans who oppose government can emigrate to a non-country somewhere in fantasy land that uses anarchy as its non-government. Maybe you can get rich in the lottery and buy a nice Pacific sandbar, Alex. You and Rush. Oh, wait ... the state lotteries are a product of government, along with the armed forces that protect us from foreign invasion, the roads that help us get from point a to point B, the schools that educate the vast majority of our children, the libraries that guarantee the freedom of speech and print so that you can read Ayn Rand without actually buying any of her books, the dams that minimize flooding damage when we get hit by heavy rains, the disaster relief that helps people get back on their feet after an F5 tornado hits, the police, the fire departments, and all the other trappings of communism that you apparently hate. Guess you'll have to find another source of funding to go found your own island nation away from us. Good luck with that. Don't let the door hit you on the way out." ;-)

And later, mainly because someone griped about the DMV, post office, social security, and VA, I added:

Yes, government can’t get anything right. That’s why our incompetent military has never succeeded and is the laughingstock of the world, why our brightest minds head to India and China for higher education because our universities are worthless, why it’s necessary to always have a bribe ready in case you run into a police officer, why we rely on streams and rivers for drinking water since the indoor plumping can’t be counted on, and why we ride trains everywhere since we have no decent roads or interstates.

Of course there are problems and issues and I have plenty of my own gripes, but it's silly to just assume that any and all government is bad. If our government didn’t get it right more often than not we wouldn’t have the most influential military, economy, and culture in the world, we wouldn’t have an immigration problem, and we wouldn’t live in relative luxury compared to most times and places. Educate yourself, get involved, and vote. Protest things you think are wrong. Work to change and improve the system. But don’t have the basic operating assumption that government involvement in something is without question a bad thing. That’s my issue with the rhetoric I see currently being tossed about, anyway.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagner's_Law

She also posted this video with quotes of Ronald Reagan talking about how government health care will lead to the insidious infiltration of socialism. It was something first posted by a fireman and . . . hmmmm, it seems she deleted my comment. Basically I asked, in all seriousness, why it's OK to have government run, taxpayer funded fire protection but not government regulated health care. Isn't our fire protection socialist by their definition? If he were a true free-market capitalist, wouldn't he start his own private fire protection business that only helped people who privately hired them? I guess she didn't care for my line of questioning.

I haven't been able to bring myself to do so because they're a little too mocking and confrontational, but I'd sure like to sometime throw into the discussion: this and this and this:

The Teabagger Socialist-Free Purity Pledge

I, ________________________________, do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall strictly adhere to the following:

I will complain about the destruction of 1st Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 1st Amendment Rights.

I will complain about the destruction of my 2nd Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights by legally but brazenly brandishing unconcealed firearms in public.

I will foreswear the time-honored principles of fairness, decency, and respect by screaming unintelligible platitudes regarding tyranny, Nazi-ism, and socialism at public town halls.

Also.

I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life. I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following:
● Social Security
● Medicare/Medicaid
● State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)
● Police, Fire, and Emergency Services
● US Postal Service
● Roads and Highways
● Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA)
● The US Railway System
● Public Subways and Metro Systems
● Public Bus and Lightrail Systems
● Rest Areas on Highways
● Sidewalks
● All Government-Funded Local/State Projects (e.g., see Iowa 2009 federal senate
appropriations--http://grassley.senate.gov/issues/upload/Master-Approps-73109.pdf)
● Public Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower, dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!)
● Public and State Universities and Colleges
● Public Primary and Secondary Schools
● Sesame Street
● Publicly Funded Anti-Drug Use Education for Children
● Public Museums
● Libraries
● Public Parks and Beaches
● State and National Parks
● Public Zoos
● Unemployment Insurance
● Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services
● Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From Local, State or Federal Government (pretty much all of them)
● Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From Any Government Grant or Research Funding (again, pretty much all of them)
● Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape and Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions)
● Use of the Internets, email, and networked computers, as the DoD's ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking
● Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops That Were Grown With, Fed With, Raised With or That Contain Inputs From Crops Grown With Government Subsidies
● Clothing Made from Crops (e.g. cotton) That Were Grown With or That Contain Inputs From Government Subsidies
● If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will forego my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care

I will not tour socialist government buildings like the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

I pledge to never take myself, my family, or my children on a tour of the following types of socialist locations, including but not limited to:
● Smithsonian Museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of American History
● The socialist Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monuments
● The government-operated Statue of Liberty
● The Grand Canyon
● The socialist World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorials
● The government-run socialist-propaganda location known as Arlington National Cemetery
● All other public-funded socialist sites, whether it be in my state or in Washington, DC

I will urge my Member of Congress and Senators to forego their government salary and government-provided healthcare.

I will oppose and condemn the government-funded and therefore socialist military of the United States of America.

I will boycott the products of socialist defense contractors such as GE, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Humana, FedEx, General Motors, Honeywell, and hundreds of others that are paid by our socialist government to produce goods for our socialist army.

I will protest socialist security departments such as the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Department of Justice and their socialist employees.

Upon reaching eligible retirement age, I will tear up my socialist Social Security checks.

Upon reaching age 65, I will forego Medicare and pay for my own private health insurance until I die.

SWORN ON A BIBLE AND SIGNED THIS DAY OF ____________ IN THE YEAR ______________.
___________________________ ___________________________
Signed Printed Name/Town and State