Socialism would change every aspect of America
Our republic form of government may not be the best form there is, but it is the best form to govern America. There are as many types of socialism as there are Baptists, none are better than what we have. Saying a republic is the best for governing America is based on the kind of populace we have. There are some who are very politically informed citizens, some uninformed, and some misinformed. The last two are a greater threat to our republic that any form of socialism. These two segments could lead to America becoming more socialistic, if not fully socialistic.
Some socialists even use Scripture in support of their principles, quoting Acts 22: 42-45: “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to everyone as he had need.” Noteworthy is the text that declares “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (II Thessalonians 3:10). There are other texts supporting benevolence for those who cannot work. This command relates to those who will not work. This text gives no support for government-enforced redistribution of wealth by taxation.
Today in America there are those who support socialism. They do not realize it comes at the expense of forfeiting their personal independence and self-rule. Socialism will control every area of one’s personal life. You eventually pay for the free “goodies” at the expense of your own freedom.
Bobby Jindal, former governor of Louisiana, summarily said, “This isn’t new. Those who favor socialism always make the moral case for it. The truth is, maybe they actually believe in it, but in the real world, socialism harms, it weakens the economies of countries that have tried it. It just does. Weaker economies hurt everybody in them.
Socialism kills incentive, opportunity, freedom. It is the opposite of what America is all about. Look, socialism always harms the people it claims to help the most. It handicaps them, leaving them weaker, less selfdetermined, less free.”
Self-determination is essential to progress and happiness. To forfeit self-freedom is to lose a sense of self-worth and contentment. Personal initiative is lost. Cuba, where socialism has been the standard for some time, is an example. It has been the norm for so long, the present population does not realize what they had and lost. Lethargy typifies the workforce. This comes under the guise of “the wealthy will pay for the entitlements due us.”
A major problem arises when there is a large segment of the population that feels they have nothing which they can lose, and therefore have nothing to lose, so they support socialism. Or, that they have so little to lose that what they gain will profit them. It is not to be denied, there is such a segment in our society.
Socialism might well be defined as a time when the citizens willfully become slaves of the state. There is no need for us to try it to see if it works. It has been proven that it does not work. It never has and never will. The personal losses are unavoidable.
We have had our four freedoms for so long their worth has been devalued. Some seem to feel they can have the blessings our republic has afforded us and at the same time the enslavement of socialism. Millennials don’t realize that much of what they enjoy is the result of capitalism and would disappear if we became socialist.
The Rev. Dr. Nelson L. Price is pastor emeritus of Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta.