As a recent writer noted, there’s a good bit of blindness when it comes to socialism.

Blind as to how our highways are built and maintained. Blind as to how our schools are built and maintained. Blind as to how our heroes in law enforcement, fire protection and all the rest are maintained. Blind to how our military is maintained. 

These few examples are all built upon the idea that they are a good for society, so as a society, we do ourselves proud to support and maintain these vital services. 

We do it because we can’t expect the free market, or capitalism, to offer such services to everyone regardless of their financial situation. We can’t expect some benevolent knight of a capitalist to offer to pay for it. Nope, we have to all band together, best we can, and help as much as we can, where we can. 

It’s little different than dear old mom there, being the best cook — well she does the cooking when the family (society) gets together. Then there’s Uncle JB (teachers — he chases all the kids around to tire them out so they go to sleep early, so the adults can have adult conversation. And me (poor schlub) — I help folks nod off by having conversation with them. We all have our niche, our role. It’s just some wanna complain when their role is to pony up the beer money. You just had some of momma’s finest, Uncle JB done rode your rugrats on 200 knee bounces, and you can’t fess up for some beer? 

We do it because, “Today you, tomorrow me.” 

Socialism is what has to happen when capitalism can’t, or won’t do the job. 

How poor a nation are we that the capitalists have taken over our hospitals, demanding their rents for our lives? How poor a nation are we that people must decide between paying the rent or getting their diabetes medicine? Between feeding their children or fixing that carpel tunnel the factory swears they got on the weekends? Between getting a wheelchair for their son or braces for their daughter? What would you rather have, a cure for that cancer you got or one of them big ol’ Rabbit Town biscuits? 

This is what capitalism does. It turns a blind eye to our suffering, while groping its hand through our wallets. 

“Blind eye to socialism?” 

I don’t doubt many a capitalist would much prefer to turn a blind eye to the many examples of socialism in which he is surrounded, while scare-mongering about the dangers of the very socialism that has provided him so well. 

Joe Knudsen

Lula