Fear and Loathing of Socialism-Individual Liberities

Ah, there is just so much I have to say, I think I will divide this blog into several. For today’s blog, I want to focus on Rush Limbaugh’s speech at the CPAC Convention (or as Keith Olbermann refers to him “The Comedian”). Rush Limbaugh cited, “What is so strange about being honest and saying, I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation? Why would I want that to succeed?" Individual liberties, you say Rush? Okay, let’s talk individual liberty.

When I was younger I remember a woman who had Hodgkin’s disease. Since she could not get medical coverage for her “condition”, she was forced to place a jar at cashier stands at restaurants and stores hoping people would offer their change. Now just recently I heard a “patriotic” American declare he did not want to pay for another American’s healthcare, but let me tell you something that jar at the cashier stand was always full. Many good Americans gave to another in need and to me that is patriotism. Sharing benefits and wealth is patriotism. I do believe MOST Americans have the heart and feel the civic duty to help another in need. This was evidently true during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Where our government failed, the American people were to open not only their wallets but their homes as well.
Today many are going bankrupt because they cannot afford the health insurance for their illness. Today people are being declined health care because they have pre-existing conditions. Families are going into debt because they cannot handle the premiums and deductibles of insurance companies. Small businesses are going out of business because they can’t afford the health care insurance. Corporations are moving American industry overseas and providing labor to other countries with socialized medicine (Canada). Why are we losing American jobs? Big corporations do not want to pay for our health care, so they provide labor to the countries that do. So, I ask you. Does that sound like big business cares for Americans?

Today, many families lie awake at night worrying how they are going to send their children to college. Many students today are graduating with thousands of dollars of debt, without even getting their first job. They are starting out their adult lives in debt. We are losing our competitive edge in the world because our standard of education is falling and many students drop out because they cannot afford to attend. How can we compete in a global market when we cannot afford to send our children to college?

What Rush Limbaugh/Comedian wants is what is good for “him” and promoting the fear of lost individual liberties. Today our individual liberties are at the hand of the corporations, not at the hand of the government. We lose individual liberty when we can’t afford health care. We lose individual liberty when we can’t compete in getting a good education and we lose individual liberty when we graduate all ready deep in debt. We lose individual liberties when credit companies, “at their discretion” can change our loan terms that keep consumers in debt. We lose individual liberties when bank CEO run their companies into the ground and we the American taxpayer need to bail them out, only for them to buy corporate jets. We lose individual liberties when CEO’s mismanaged their businesses and lay off workers and we lose individual liberties when we must stand in unemployment lines. We lose individual liberties when corporate sponsors invest in media mouths and politicians who do not have the best intentions for the average American, but only want to reap more wealth for them. What Rush Limbaugh doesn’t realize is we have already lost many of our individual liberties at the hands of big business.

It is only with these individual liberties that we can pursue our individual dreams and give us the ability to be more creative and innovative. How can we do this when we are in debt? How can we do this when we are stressed about health insurance? To me anyone who doesn’t want to share the benefits with fellow Americans and who doesn’t want to lend a hand to help fellow Americans are not patriotic Americans. True patriotic Americans care for all Americans, not just themselves and those of like minds.