by Mekelle Tenney
We can learn a lot about the American people from election results. Monday marked the start of the 2016 Presidential primary election. I have been listening to analysists discuss the results of the Iowa caucus all day. They have compared voter turnout to previous years, voter turnout between parties, demographics of voters, and basically every possible aspect of these results. There was one issue that didn’t get much coverage. Did you know that 697 people voted for a candidate who is openly running on a socialist platform? The number isn’t that alarming, until you realize that it was 50% of the voters in the democrat party. It’s hard to understand why people are so willing to give up their freedom for a little security. To be truthful, we have had little bits of socialism popping up in America for decades. Maybe that is why these voters are so eager for socialism. I came across a parody the other day that fits the current situation we find ourselves in.
The government is my shepherd; therefore, I need not work. It allowed me to lie down on a good job. It leadeth me beside still factories. It destroyeth my initiative. It leadeth me in the path of a parasite for politics’ sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of laziness and deficit spending, I will fear no evil for government is with me. It prepareth an economic utopia for me by appropriating the earnings of my own grandchildren. It filleth my head with false security. My inefficiency runneth over. Surely the government should care for me all the days of my life, and I dwell in a fool’s paradise forever.
This verse is both comical and alarming especially because I found it in a book printed in 1985. Things have changed a lot since then. If anything they have gotten worse with more government dependence. But why does that matter? What does socialism mean for your family? Socialism means that your children’s healthcare, education, and thought processes, would be controlled, and managed by the government. Government becomes the nanny, making the choices and decisions that parents should be making for their children. The government will raise all of us from the cradle to the grave. Sound extreme? Not really, like I said we already see some of this happening in our lives now.
We have examples of socialist governments in the world today, where government is involved in almost every aspect of the family’s life even down to how many children they have. The role of mother and father becomes moot and unnecessary. One aspect of socialism that many find appealing is that it offers economic security while relieving us of personal responsibility. This is an attitude that we should avoid at all costs. One way we can accomplish this is by teaching our children the importance of hard work, personal achievement, and personal responsibility.
If we do not reverse this attitude in America I’m afraid that we will head down a path from which we cannot return. One of the most alarming aspects of socialism is that it is most often the stepping stone to communism.
In a conversation Kkrushchev had with secretary of agriculture, Ezra Taft Benson, he gave this chilling warning. “You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept communism outright, but we will keep feeding you small doses of socialism until you’ll wake up and find you already have communism. We’ll so weaken your economy until you’ll fall like over ripe fruit into our hands”. No the number of people who voted for socialism was not large but that does not matter. If the percentage is high enough those people will decide our future.