This was a post from the
Scioto County Republican Party Facebook group on February 13, 2020:
“A Gallup poll showed
Democrats are most willing to support a socialist, with 76 percent
saying they would vote for a candidate with that political ideology.
Only 45 percent of Independents and 17 percent of Republicans said
they would do the same.
“This is what liberal
ideology in our schools has produced. We are one generation away from
losing everything if this continues. Teach your children about the
dangers of Socialism.”
Does this post make you wonder
just what Republicans are saying about schools and their “promotion”
of a “liberal ideology.” The doomsday scenario proposed by the
party practically begs parents to oppose public education and deny
the supposed “production” of its socialistic products – that
is, our greatest resource, the youth of America.
The Republican Party of
Scioto County is guilty of shamelessly arousing the feelings and
enthusiasm of the multitude with fallacies like Argumentum ad
Populum, stereotyping, slippery slope, and misleading statistics.
Their emotional appeal to the public blames Democrats who would
support Bernie Sanders for president of seeking to gain complete
government ownership over the means of production. They employ
political rhetoric to foster a vague claim that Sanders is leading us
all to hell.
That same Gallup polling
in 2018 found when asked to explain their understanding of the term
"socialism," 23% of the public viewed socialism as
“equality – equal standing for everybody, all equal in rights,
equal in distribution” while only 17% of the public saw socialism
as “government ownership or control, government ownership of
utilities, everything controlled by the government, state control of
business.” And, in fact, another 23% had “no opinion” at all
about socialism. These are hardly numbers for alarm about a
government takeover.
(Frank
Newport. “The Meaning of 'Socialism' to Americans Today.”
Gallup
Polling Matters. October 4, 2018.)
Polls show Americans today
are most likely to define socialism as connoting equality for
everyone, while others understand the term as meaning the provision
of benefits and social services. Most Americans' understanding of the
term “socialism” is what might be considered a more standard
liberalism.
All of this leads to the
next logical conclusion – when Americans – especially millennials
– think of 'socialism,' they primarily think about Bernie Sanders,
Western European democracies, income equality, and access to
healthcare.
(Third
Annual Report on US Attitudes Toward Socialism, 2018.)
Misconceptions
about the precise meaning of Sander's "socialism" abound,
with many Americans conflating the term with communism in nations
such as Venezuela and Russia. Sander's policies are more in line with
the type of socialism seen in Scandinavian countries, a political
science professor noted in a Newsweek
interview.
Dr. Eileen Hunt Botting, a
professor of political science at Notre Dame University, told
Newsweek that the ideology of communism means there would be "no
private property, and no class distinctions." Botting explained
that democratic socialism, conversely, does not do away with private
property or all economic class distinctions. She said …
“Democratic socialism
aims to use democratic government to promote a more fair and
egalitarian distribution of social goods and opportunities among all
people in a society.”
(Jason
Lemon. “Bernie Sanders is a Democratic Socialist not a Communist,
Here's the
Difference.” Newsweek. February 3, 2020.)
The truth? Yes,
according to poll results from Gallup released February 11, 2020,
just over three-quarters of Democratic voters said that they would
vote to elect a socialist president. The poll, conducted between
January 16 and 29, asked respondents whether they identified as
Republican, Democrat or independent and questioned them about their
willingness to vote for candidates with "diverse
characteristics."
Let me say that
again … “willingness to vote for those with diverse
characteristics.”
Local
Republicans have oversimplified, categorized, and demonized the
results of the Gallup poll to spread fear that public education
promotes socialism in some kind of a wacky conspiracy to take away
democracy. This fear mongering is baseless and divisive – similar
to many of the tactics used by a narcissistic leader who views every
threat to his presidency as “Communistic” or “unconstitutional.”
According to
these Republicans, American government is one generation away from
destruction unless the “liberal ideology” is stopped … not to
mention they clarify the meaning of “stopping” by turning
teachers and students into partisan, mindless automatons of the State
presumably by having them support Trump for president and electing
Trump-supporting candidates in 2020.
I encourage people to see
through this ruse and, instead, understand that Bernard Sanders is an
American politician who has served as the junior United States
Senator from Vermont since 2007. He is the longest-serving
independent in U.S. congressional history.
Sanders is known for his
opposition to economic inequality. On domestic policy, he broadly
supports labor rights, and has supported universal and single-payer
healthcare, paid parental leave, tuition-free tertiary education, and
an ambitious Green New Deal to create jobs addressing climate change.
On foreign policy, Sanders broadly supports reducing military
spending, pursuing more diplomacy and international cooperation, and
putting greater emphasis on labor rights and environmental concerns
when negotiating international trade agreements.
Bernie Sanders is not a
threat to destroy the country or to obliterate the government. He has
beliefs that fall under what many call the label of “democratic
socialist.” If you believe America desperately needs some
aggressive action to cut the masses back in on the fruits of economic
production, Bernie Sanders' democratic socialist vision is a good
place to get started.
And, many Americans
believe – the young, in particular – that Sanders' policies would
make a big dent in income and wealth inequality – some very ugly
side effects of Republican-supported capitalism in the 21st century.
Yes, teach your children well: teach them not about groundless theories, but
about critically thinking for themselves. I pray the youth of Scioto County continue to gain academic skills that support them as true independent citizens.
Here is an example of
response to Scioto GOP's Facebook post on socialism (2/13/2020):
“This has been part of
the Dem playbook half a century. Look at Sesame Street for example.
There is little actual educational value in the program itself. It's
main purpose seems to be brainwashing American youth into believing
mediocrity is acceptable.
“It's OK to live on the
projects for the rest of your life. It's OK to share and share and
share some more, because it really isn't about community, it's about
planting a subliminal seed to make you feel entitled to someone
else's things, since communism mascaraing as socialism is the
ultimate goal of the Dems. Of course they say that isn't the case,
but considering all the action they've taken to disarm and devoice
others, make no mistake, it's absolute, tyrannical, control they
seek.”
“Sesame
Street brainwashing” and “subliminal devoicing” … lions and
tigers and bears, oh my.
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