Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The Inevitable Failure of Collectivism

Socialism. Communism. Collectivism. Three words with functionally identical meanings. Yes, they have some technical and logistical differences, but in practice they are virtually identical. Whichever label you choose to employ, they all have 2 very important things in common: they do not work in practice, and they are incompatible with American principles. Progressives believe that collectivist policies are the answer to all of our problems. Despite the exponentially growing list of examples to the contrary, these people believe that collectivism simply hasn't been given a fair shake. It's not the policies themselves that cause destruction in their eyes, but rather the timidity of those charged with their implementation. This is a particularly convenient fallacy because it ignores the ideology and the practical implications of collectivism and allows progressives to cling to an excuse that, in theory, can be used indefinitely to defend policies that cannot and will not work. It also allows them to slowly convince people that collectivism will work if we give up some (and eventually all) of the constitutional liberties we enjoy as American citizens. The more destruction collectivism causes, the more they attempt to lay claim to our lives, liberty and property. If left to their own devices, progressives would utterly destroy the country, then blame all who opposed their policies for having "sabotaged" them.

Margaret Thatcher famously said that "the problem with Socialism is you eventually you run out of other people's money". Aside from being a brilliant political one liner, that quote speaks volumes to the impracticality of Socialism. It seems like a great idea when you first hear a giddy college professor frame it: "everyone gets what they need, we all pay our fair share, from each according to his ability and to each according to his need". Hell I asked myself "why not?" the first time it was explained to me. But once you start asking questions, the holes in the theory become evident and abundant. Where will the money come from? Who gets to determine your needs and ability? Won't this encourage dependency and discourage ingenuity? And what about inalienable rights - life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? To put it as simply as I can, there are too many unintended consequences and America would have to give up too many of her principles to even FAIL at Socialism (see Obamacare, food stamps, disability or the disgraces happening at the VA). I'm not saying that the stated goals of everyone being taken care of or giving those in need a chance at success are not worthy causes. I'm saying that "helping" one man by robbing another is wrong. I'm saying that government has no business picking winners and losers. I'm saying there's a difference between a hand UP and a hand OUT. And I'm saying that anytime you put government in charge of a massive effort involving money, or anything that can be used to manipulate voters, the government will inevitably abuse the power they're given. Yes, on paper and in basic theory, socialism has some noble goals, but while it could be done, it cannot be done without doing more harm than good. We all know from our own personal experiences that just because something COULD be done, that doesn't mean it SHOULD be done. I can explain exactly why Socialism will never work, especially in America, with an experience of my own.

When I was in my late teens and early 20s I was working at an entry level job at a chain auto service shop (not Water Pebble...). At the time I was driving a 1998 Ford Escort ZX2. It was a small coupe, hunter green with that useless little rear spoiler on the trunk. She was nothing special but she got me where I wanted to go and best of all, she was bought and paid for with the hard earned fruits of my labor. So what does a 16 year old car have to do with Socialism? I'm getting there...

Like most young adult males, I always knew what I was doing and nothing I did could ever go wrong (that would be sarcasm for the liberals who've gotten lost). So when I decided to swap out my stock 14 inch steel wheels and "upgrade" to 17 inch alloy "racing" wheels, nothing was going to stop me. If you've worked in the industry you know exactly why I added the quotations in that last sentence. Any mechanic worth his salt (5 years and an ASE Master Technician Certification later for me at this point...) knows that changing your wheel/tire size that dramatically and adding almost 3 times the weight will have an impact on the suspension and drivetrain. Within a couple months of swapping the wheels I had replaced ball joints, struts and cv axles. Eventually the engine and transaxle mounts ripped apart like tissue paper and internal transaxle parts were wearing out in a hurry. Before it was all said and done, I had nearly doubled what I paid for the car in "upgrades" and the damage that they caused. That's not very efficient or practical. It sure seemed like a great idea on paper, but in practice it was nothing more than an unnecessary, cosmetic change that hurt the car far more than it actually improved anything. Eventually, I learned my lesson and I traded her in for a vehicle with all of the stock parts still attached...

This may seem like a simple lesson about not doing ridiculous things to your car, but it's so much more. This experience perfectly illustrates the pitfalls of Socialism. The car represents America and her citizens, the "upgrades" are Socialist policies like wealth redistribution and cradle to grave entitlements, and the cost is, well, the cost! When you take a system of carefully designed components that are meant to work together in a specific way, and you replace them arbitrarily with superficial (political) things you WISH would work, it's only a matter of time before catastrophe strikes. Just like with me and my car, progressives believe they're infallible. They think they can change whatever they don't like about the system with no negative affects. And they honestly believe that they know how things should work better than the engineers of the American system of government and her citizens. That makes about as much sense as a 21 year old wannabe gear head telling Ford's engineers and assembly plant workers that they put the wrong wheels on my car.

America was founded on individual liberty and equal justice under the law. Both of these ideals are vital to the American way of life, and 100% incompatible with collectivism. As we slowly inject socialism into America's government and her economy, we see catastrophic breakdowns occurring left and right (political corruption, a stagnant economy, wide spread poverty, illegal immigration running rampant, a deeply diminished status on the world stage, etc...), and we see the unpaid toll, which is being charged to our grandchildren's grandchildren, rising by billions a day. We cannot have Socialism without robbing certain among us, if not every last citizen, of the liberties and equal protection guaranteed to us by the Constitution. Americans are too dedicated lady liberty to let her fall beaten and battered into the abyss of collectivism. If progressives are left unchecked, there will be one and only one outcome. If they insist on forcing Socialism into America, a great implosion will inevitably ensue, and America may well be lost to history. Depending who's left standing at that point, our posterity may never know she ever existed as she did while you and I were here. I sure as hell don't want to let that happen, and I know you don't either. Ask yourself, is a little hard work and sacrifice on our part worth keeping the last best hope for freedom on Earth alive? Is all that we've fought for and all that we've achieved worth it? You're damn right it is. Let's start showing Americans the benefits of the American way. If we show them that Capitalism and Federalism are far more beneficial than collectivism, we can save the nation we love and leave her in better shape than we found her. I'll do whatever it takes to keep my America alive. Will you?

God Bless.