It seems that in every blog "argument" I enter with a conservative or Republican individual, I am inevitably identified as a "communist," a "pinko commie," or an "Obamunist." Now, I learned early on in my political blogging career that insults hurled in comment sections are often the product of an inflated sense of bravado enhanced by the protection that anonymity ensures. But really, folks. Communist? Pinko? Obamunist? All you are succeeding in doing is identifying yourself as woefully ignorant about political theory.
Let's begin with a basic lesson in Communism. MSN's Encyclopedia Encarta defines communism as:
A theory and system of social and political organization that was a major force in world politics for much of the 20th century. As a political movement, communism sought to overthrow capitalism through a workers' revolution and establish a system in which property is owned by the community as a whole rather than by individuals. In theory, communism would create a classless society of abundance and freedom, in which all people enjoy equal social and economic status. In practice, communist regimes have taken the form of coercive, authoritarian governments that cared little for the plight of the working class and sought above all else to preserve their own hold on power.
Now, seeing as how Merriam-Webster defines a communist as "an adherent or advocate of a Communist government, party, or movement," I think we can agree that anyone who supports capitalism and individual property ownership is not a communist. Barack Obama, who supports capitalism and the ability for people to climb the class ladder based on their own individual hard word and success. His economic plan offers plenty of assistance to those who wants to improve their own skill sets through education and training, and thus advance in their jobs. You can find details on his entire economic plan here, on his own Web site.
People who support Obama generally support Obama's economic plan (and as a recent ABC News poll indicates, 57% of those surveyed believe Obama has a stronger understanding of the American economy than McCain). Therefore, I feel it is a safe assumption that Obama's supporters are capitalists, not communists.
Calling us "communists" for supporting Barack Obama is more or less on par with calling us "smelly," "doo doo heads," "fatties," or "dumb dumbs." It reveals that you know so little about government that you are forced to regurgitate fear-mongering GOP talking points from more than a half century ago.
It's not that I'm offended by being called a communist--in fact, I find it amusing how eager and willing these people are to proclaim their ignorance so publicly. It's that they expect people to take them seriously in political discussions when they don't even care enough to research the party line before they recite it.
So for your sake and not mine, Republicans, please stop calling me a communist. All you succeed in doing is making a complete and utter fool of yourselves.
Not really correct. It's actually bigger and more desperately sad than that.
The people who can only manage about 2 exchanges in a dialog based on topics for which mountains of empirical data is publicly available before resorting to irrational name-calling are exhibiting serious mental health disorders. There is a wide array of problems, but I am confident, based on my personal experiences (despite lacking formal mental health training) that these extremists suffer from at least one clinical, diagnosable disorder.
Your attempt to cope with these conflicts by using logic to verify your command of real-world conditions is an example of a healthy mind, but is totally unnecessary in the context of your interaction with people who object to facts and reality. These are damaged people - terrified, enraged, confused, detached, depressed - and a splash of conversational truth won't begin to address their problems.
You're right, Timm0, it's bigger and more desperate than old talking points.
Defined as: Grownups who were bullies, used to having their way as youngsters. Instilling their views on others or following those with extreme prejudice and intimidation. Total disregard for logic or reason. Never being called down or confronted.
My ex was a teacher for many years. Once when confronted with an entire class of ruffians whose entire vocabulary consisted of nothing but "F" words, quietly asked the ring leader to come to the board, write the offending word and then define that word. He couldn't do it and was humiliated as were the rest of his followers.
The point being if you don't know, LEARN, if you won't learn, DON"T SAY. They probably can't or won't.
Brett...next time make them define Communist, Socialist or Liberal.