The irony of the �socialist� scare
By Mary Shaw
Online Journal Contributing Writer
Aug 25, 2009, 00:42
Back in the 1950s, Senator Joe McCarthy tried to instill
fear in the American people over communism. Many in Hollywood were accused of being communists or
communist sympathizers. So were academics, trade unionists, and free thinkers
in general.
Now McCarthyism is back, but updated for today�s times. It
is a new McCarthyism. And this time the perceived threat is �socialism.�
The right-wing fear mongers have their sheep in a frenzy
over allegations that Obama, in general, and health care reform, in particular,
are leading this nation into �socialism.�
The sheep are naive enough to fall for the spin machine that
tries to equate socialism with Marxism and/or communism. That�s kind of like
suggesting that all dogs are pit bulls. These people never were too
appreciative of semantic nuance.
And they apparently didn�t pay a lot of attention in Poli
Sci class, either.
Or else they are just willingly allowing their fears and
emotions to subconsciously deny what they might actually know to be the truth.
Because fear, especially racially induced fear, is that powerful,
unfortunately.
And so they descend on the health care town hall meetings
with their pictures of Obama with a crudely drawn Hitler-style mustache. (I
guess socialism equals Nazism now, too, for those who will not think. Except
that Obama wants to kill all the old people instead of all the Jews.)
They descend on the health care town hall meetings with
enough ignorance to challenge the premise that the United States of America should
provide for the health and well-being of the citizens who form this nation
(although they don�t -- i.e., cannot -- word it that way). But then, of course,
it�s not as though this were still a government �of the people, by the people,
and for the people.� At least not since Reagan.
And they descend on the health care town hall meetings with
their guns fully loaded. And sometimes they get away with it.
So who are the real extremists here? Who are the real
threats?
Within all this exhausting drama lies a number of ironies.
First of all, is it not ironic that the right-wingers get to
show up at Obama�s town hall meetings with loaded guns, when George W. Bush�s
handlers were famous for systematically banishing citizens who merely sported
tee-shirt slogans that they disagreed with?
Next, we need to remember the Terri Schiavo case. The
Republicans in the White House and Congress actually saw fit to intervene in
this private family medical matter. And all for the wrong reasons. But when a
black president tries to provide for the well-being of everyday Americans, and
give them some control over their own lives, suddenly he is accused of wanting
to kill your grandmother. Even though he doesn�t.
Furthermore, we must distinguish between popular socialism
and corporate socialism. The right wing will not stand up for the well-being of
everyday folks. They don�t want to stand up for the workers, or the minorities,
or the poor and underprivileged. But they waste no time in rescuing the banks
that prey on the vulnerable, and the automobile companies that have kept their
heads buried in the sand for the past 20 years. That, dear reader, is corporate
socialism. And that, dear reader, appears to be okay -- while populist
socialism is not.
Corporate America equals too big to fail. You and I equal
too small to matter. Welcome to America,
2009.
Finally, it is amusing to note that these are some of the
same people who send their children to (socialist) public schools. These are
some of the same people who expect a (socialist) ambulance to appear when they
dial 9/11 in a medical emergency. These are some of the same people who hope
that a (socialist) fire truck will arrive quickly when their house is on fire. And
these are the some of same people who rely on a (socialist) police force to
help keep them safe from crime.
Because it all benefits society as a whole in the long run.
And that, by extension, benefits each of us.
That is what socialism (in this context) is really all
about.
And that, apparently, is what the right-wingers are really
so afraid of.
Mary Shaw is a Philadelphia-based writer and
activist, with a focus on politics, human rights, and social justice. She is a
former Philadelphia Area Coordinator for the Nobel-Prize-winning human rights
group Amnesty International, and her views appear regularly in a variety of
newspapers, magazines, and websites. Note that the ideas expressed here are the
author�s own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Amnesty
International or any other organization with which she may be associated.
E-mail: mary@maryshawonline.com.
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