Dirty Stinkin' Commies! (And Other Improprieties)

    So it has come down to it at last. The final nail in the coffin. The ending waltz on the dance floor. The last Pringle in the can. Or something. Either way, we have sworn in another president, we have upheld our particularly American brand of Democracy, and we are all certainly awaiting every politician to be taken into custody, executed, and then for Trump to rule forever. Q just has to be correct right? The track record is.... stunning?

Pictured: Q at his computer, or something.
Creator: Rembrandt | Credit: Hermitage

    Either way, our country has reached the dawning of a new administration. An event that has happened 45 previous times, and will undoubtedly happen many many more. But along the way, there was a bit of... discourse, if you could call it that. Most of it was spurned on by the greatest of all threats in this day and age, the Keyboard Warriors. Yes, this multi-class, 12th level, 5h Edition DnD champion has, for the last 5-6 years at least, had an alarmingly large amount of sway over our countries political spectrum. Whether by Russian trolling or by literally getting a president elected because of the meme potential, these stalwart patrons of idiocy have spewed enough inane rhetoric to last years to come. But one thing above all else has stood out amongst the yelling and screaming: the fact that few, if any of these people yelling, ACTUALLY know what the words they are calling others mean.

    We've heard it countless times. "So and So is a communist cause I don't agree with them." "Democratic Socialist? That means COMMIE!" "You mean you want to GIVE people healthcare? CHINESE COMMIE BASTARD!" And so on and so forth. But few of these people actually know, or care, about the difference between Communism, Socialism, Democratic Republic, Democratic Socialism, and as it turns out, blatant Fascism. So I figured it would be as good a time as any to have a little refresher on what exactly it means to be one of these terms vs the other, and how we seem to have forgotten that calling each other names won't actually stop anyone from becoming class president if they offer a free taco every Tuesday.

Everyone loves tacos.

    So lets break down the biggest issue here: Communism. People LOOOOVE to call each other Commies, and for a semi-good reason. For the better part of the 20th century, Communism, specifically of the Soviet Union brand, were the big bad guys engaged in conflict with good guy United States. So there is some basis in the seemingly irrational hatred that many have for them. But that doesn't mean that calling every person you disagree with a Commie is an easy way to win an argument. Especially when said person routinely disagrees with several large tenants of Communism itself. 

    To understand Communism, you have to first understand Socialism. At its easiest, most broken down base, Socialism is the political ideology of having all things be given equally and shared amongst the people. Sounds good right? It always does. The problem is, when put in practice, Socialism tends to work on a small scale, but for large countries, a ruling class always emerges. This is when you segway into Communism. Communism is when a totalitarian group governs the smaller and more numerous lower class group. And in nearly every case, the only people subject to socialism ideals, are these lower classes. So while the big-wigs are drinking Cognac made from the tears of their people, the lower classes are generally trying to eek out a meager existence, which is used solely to prop-up the upper class way of life. This is the fatal flaw of Socialism, and by extension, Communism. But there are ways to make it work.

    Enter, Democratic Socialism. This type of ideology is where the core focus remains on Democratically voted in representatives and laws, but certain aspects of the government are socialized. Now that word is, admittedly, rather loaded these days. Socialized healthcare has long been a talking point for both sides of the spectrum, but again, the common folk tend to misunderstand the meaning. They say, "we don't want to have our tax dollars go towards giving everyone healthcare that should be their responsibility!". Hmm, okay. By that logic then, when that persons house is burning down, I do not want MY tax dollars going towards saving their house and stopping the fire. Because guess what, in most local and state governments around the country, emergency services are socialized. So part of every persons tax dollars go towards paying for these services. So why is it that you'd want socialism in one sector, but be against it in another? Could it be that the very thought of helping someone that they don't agree with causes them to wish the whole system be nixed, just out of spite? Maybe.

    Further evidence in the idiocy behind the arguments against Democratic Socialism is when other countries are brought up. The common theme is that these other countries have "smaller populations", "less big government", "more cash to go around", etc. But here is my counter argument: If the United States is the 'Greatest Country in the World™', then isn't it a little embarrassing that all these other places could make it work, but we can't? Kinda seems a bit embarrassing to me. In truth, most people simply don't wish for a change to the status quo. Capitalism has brainwashed multiple generations into thinking that the working class is at fault for all their struggles, and all they need to do is pick themselves up, dust off, and get right back into the unemployment line. While I won't deign to say that every problem experienced by the lower-middle classes are because of evil billionaires plotting world domination like it was a Monopoly game, I will say that a great many issues can be traced back to a reluctance to reign in runaway capitalism, and also in letting many of these upper classes get away with doing nearly whatever they want.

    The issues plaguing our society are ones of our own making. We've plunged into the depths of hatred multiple times due to racial and identity politics, and many continue to try and rationalize why being a racist is a God given American right that the constitution upholds. While the founding fathers were a rather rambunctious and at times, hypocritical group of idealists, I don't remember reading anywhere that it was governmentally allowed to be a racist dickwad. Freedom of speech somewhat allows this. You are allowed to say and feel whatever the heck you want, but that does not guard you from repercussions for your actions and words, nor does it stop others from enacting THEIR freedom of speech back onto you.

    The truth is, this country will forever remain divided. Even when fighting for independence, we had plenty who couldn't get along, save for having a common enemy at the time. The biggest problem remains though, that people who argue in a public forum on behalf of others, MUST be educated enough to actually get their points across intelligently. I believe I speak for the majority when I say that I want my leaders to have an intelligent and well thought out plan before enacting ANY type of law or resolution. The government should have no place for knee-jerk reactions and petty-pity-parties. We must all try and come together, in spite of our differences, and work towards making the United States the country we need, not necessarily the country we want. We got too caught up in calling ourselves 'The Greatest Country on Earth' to recognize the very real problems and issues that keep us from that title. Maybe, by working together towards that goal, we may end up achieving it some day.