Controlling the flame

During the recent political candidates’ debates I heard the words socialism and socialist mentioned. I started paying close attention to what people were saying about these concepts, and two schools of thought emerged.

One thought was socialism should be avoided at all cost. The other thought it was a good thing that provided some security. I researched the concept and decided that socialism is like fire—an excellent servant but a dangerous master. Collective effort can achieve things an individual cannot, but the individual effort is needed to know what needs to be done and how to do it.

Collective effort is better used to provide resources to bring individual ideas and effort into fruition. Think of all the ways we use the products of collectivism. Individual brains conceived the idea of harnessing electricity, but it took the resources of taxpayers to start rural electric cooperatives. We have a transportation system second to none, but individuals engineered the how to make it happen. It took the collective effort to provide the resources.

Achievement happens when someone somewhere makes an observation and thinks “I wonder,” and accesses the collective source of resources to make it happen. That way we have transportation, education, school lunch programs, community water, electricity, Medicare and a host of other things that enhance our lives.

Let’s keep our fire and let’s keep control of it.

MARJORIE LeCLAIR Shirley