Remember when socialism was a dirty word?

[farmerbyron]

[video=youtube_share;Y0BdKkEKTrs]http://youtu.be/Y0BdKkEKTrs[/video]


It wasn't terribly long ago that progressives hid from the word. Now they are out in the open without fear of negative consequences from being labeled as socialists. Does this indicate a shift in acceptance for outright socialist ideas or is the left horribly miscalculating the general publics view of honest to god socialist ideology?



EDIT: I can't help but ponder the idea that a socialized oil industry would have slowed production and discovery of new oil and instead of the abundance of energy right now, we would have $4-5 gas or higher indefinitely.

 

[dennishoddy]

Always associated the term socialist with a stinkin' commie.

 

[Sil vis pacem para bellum]

I think a whole generation has no concept of how socialism works or its history. They lack negative feelings about it and it sounds like a great idea - why hasn't anyone ever thought about this? They also don't have a basic understanding of how an economy works in the first place. The previous generations haven't passed on the horrors of socialism because they assumed they were obvious and that kids would learn about them in school. Wrong on both counts.

I am not trying to be snarky. I was in my mid forties before I picked up a book on basic economics. It rocked my world - I hadn't noticed things that "should" have been obvious. Up to that point, I just floated along with no real interest, much less understanding, of how the economy works.

 

[chuter]

Same with gun control; 10 years ago no politician would even bring it up, now Hildibeast is even talking about Australian style confiscation.

Leftist concepts are much more acceptable now. The gradual pacification and surrender of the population.

 

[TedKennedy]

One of our most revered leaders - FDR was just a hair shy of being a full-blown communist, and his wife and many of his appointees and close associates were. When someone like that is almost elevated to saint status, how can we be expected to be critical of his policies/beliefs?

Saying communism/socialism is evil, and then saying "FDR got us out of the Depression!" makes zero sense. We've come to accept that "some" socialism is OK....Social Security, Medicare, WIC, SNAP....it all comes down to confiscating wealth from one, and distributing it to another.

 

[farmerbyron]

One of our most revered leaders - FDR was just a hair shy of being a full-blown communist, and his wife and many of his appointees and close associates were. When someone like that is almost elevated to saint status, how can we be expected to be critical of his policies/beliefs?

Saying communism/socialism is evil, and then saying "FDR got us out of the Depression!" makes zero sense. We've come to accept that "some" socialism is OK....Social Security, Medicare, WIC, SNAP....it all comes down to confiscating wealth from one, and distributing it to another.

This is all true. But did FDR flat out classify himself as a socialist? Socialist programs and positions have been the norm for many decades now but there has always been reluctance to call it what it is. The democrats have jumped the shark with potentially nominating an open socialist for the presidency. Now whether that is a death nail in a general election remains to be seen.

 

[Pokinfun]

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

― Ronald Reagan

“Give me just one generation of youth, and I'll transform the whole world.”

― Vladimir Lenin

 

[Norinoo]

Remember when a few people threw tea into a harbor and viewed government for what it is - a criminal gang of thugs? Today, people donate money to see that their criminal of choice becomes the master who will continue the practice of stealing from our paychecks without our consent to keep our roads free of potholes.

 

[TedKennedy]

This is all true. But did FDR flat out classify himself as a socialist? Socialist programs and positions have been the norm for many decades now but there has always been reluctance to call it what it is. The democrats have jumped the shark with potentially nominating an open socialist for the presidency. Now whether that is a death nail in a general election remains to be seen.

Others classified him that way, and many pointed out that Eleanor and her pack of miscreants were full-fledged commies. Tailgunner Joe tried to shed some light on what was happening, as did HUAC, but both have been vilified for decades. (even after papers have vindicated McCarthy, confirming what he was claiming years ago) Once you have the mechanism in place, and it becomes the status quo, it's just a matter of time before you can name it, and move on to the next level of theft/redistribution.

 

[808racer]

Yep.

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