Ism It True

Upon overhearing in our gym locker room rather tame observations regarding an inept comment or tweet by Donald Trump, an unassuming member stormed off to the showers muttering angrily “I don’t want to live in a socialistic country”. The segue-way of his thinking matters.  How does he get from inane comments by our National leader to the fear of being disenfranchised from his national identity?

We are now already vividly experiencing the Republican campaign we never got to see in 2016. What started slowly at the end of last year is virtually an everyday warning expressed in comments, interviews, and (of course) Tweets. If Bernie Sanders had won the Democratic nomination this recent onslaught is exactly what we would have experienced.

I have not kept record, but it is my impression that not an audience in recent months has passed before Trump without hearing about the specter of Socialism.  Conservative radio and television talk show personalities have always defined anyone not a blue-blooded Conservative as a Socialist, but now like sharks smelling blood they are circling in a frenzy.  It is why a minor, freshman Congresswoman (Alexandra Ocasio-cortez) has become such a gigantic hunk of floating red meat.

With such an inept party leader in Trump, Republicans generally are jumping on this term to define a fear they feel their constituents can sink their teeth into. “Vote Republican” they might say, “you may get Trump but at least you won’t get Socialism”. They will ramp up this rhetoric hoping that enough Americans will view anything out of the mouth of a Democrat as a sirens’ song luring patriots to their demise. It might work.

Once again the Republicans define the language and thus the debate. Democrats just don’t get it. If they are unsuccessful in defining the terms used to show where they want this country to go, they end up spending their philosophical capital just defending themselves.  Trump just walks away from blatant and repulsive anti-social behavior (Access Hollywood e.g.) while Elizabeth Warren wallows in self-incrimination for extraordinarily minor assertions.

Conservatives generally and Republicans specifically have defined such terms as welfare, healthcare, taxation, freedom, faith, and patriot (to name a few) and assigns to each an interpretation to exploit.  The phrase “the base” now has a meaning of stalwart conservatism while everyone else is essentially wishy-washy. Democrats use this definition as freely as Republicans.

Our friend from the locker room actually thinks Socialism is a thing, like a light switch. He probably also believes Capitalism is the same switch which, thanks to God, has kept his world lit throughout his life. Switch off Capitalism and what do you get…you guessed it.

Those who want to profit from his fears obviously don’t want him to understand the truth; Socialism and Capitalism are inherently components of a whole, not the whole itself.  Red blood cells and white blood cells are quite different, but they are hardly independent of the fluid that keeps us alive.

Yet Conservatives have defined Socialism as bad and Capitalism good…black and white. Liberals who think they can simply push the pendulum the other way by displaying equal exclusivity are missing the boat. Bernie Sanders or Alexandra Ocasio-cortez labeling themselves as Socialists doesn’t help.

A model called Social-Capitalism (Google it) would probably work better as a definition of where most Americans land.  Democrats could embrace that; however Democrats need to get off defense and start calling the plays.

Liberals need to label Conservatives as anti-social and anti-capitalist, things that they are clearly not although they unwittingly contribute to those ends. If Republicans want to demonize Socialism, so let them demonize Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, disease control, disaster relief, universal healthcare, a clean & sustainable environment, education (K-12), air traffic control, roads & bridges, crime prevention, recycling, affordable housing, agricultural subsidies, and on and on. That understanding might mitigate Conservative fears.

Republicans successfully attack all these social efforts and more by undermining Capitalism and allowing for huge unproductive accumulations of Capital that are not churned back into the economy. Instead they rely on accumulated debt to keep the lights on.  Democrats have barely done better.

When Trumps states (as he recently did) “show me a country where Socialism has ever worked”, the answer to that is “show me an authoritarian country that has ever worked for its general population, regardless whether it is labeled Socialist or Capitalist”. There is no point in choosing an “ism”. They’re both in your garden, my locker room friend.  Either they both grow, or the weeds take over.