My Opinion on Politics, Race, and Gender Discrimination

Socialism

As we all know, in recent years, socialism has made a return, and people are starting to see it as a more popular form of government. In this chapter, I want to focus on the good sides of socialism, the bad sides, and look at it as what it is. People like to make socialism sound like a dictatorship in which no one is allowed to do or say anything without constantly being harassed by the government, and in many cases it is, but the base of socialism is different. By definition, a socialist government is one that calls for public ownership, rather than private ownership. Public schooling, public healthcare, and more. In a socialist

government, people with the production of a good are entitled to share it with the rest of society. It is seen by many as the cure to poverty. Whether this be true or not, this is the perspective of a modern-day socialist politician. Socialism is the opposite of capitalism, to put it simply. Socialists believe that the problem with capitalism is that rich people make more money every day, while poor people get poorer every day. You need money to make money, and that's just fact. People often confuse socialism with communism. Communism means that there is no such thing as private property. In Socialism, you are allowed to have a house and a car. You are allowed to own things, but the production of wealth is regulated by the state.
People are afraid of socialism. Look at Venezuela, look at Cuba. No one can argue against that. I know people, and I have relatives who say,
"I could never trust a socialist government because of the terrible things it has brought to me and my people".

So, it was socialism bad in those situations, why can it be a good thing?
Well, the basic idea of socialism is not a bad thing. It advocates for the rights of all people, and that everyone should be treated equally. In an ideal world, socialism functions perfectly and no one complains, but this is not an ideal world, because the truth is that you cannot trust politicians. You can not trust policemen, you can not trust the military in many countries, because while there are good ones, they have screwed us over time and time again. Socialism gives the state the power to handle the economy, so what happens when that power falls in the hands of a corrupt official, like Fidel Castro, or Nicolas Maduro. They use that power to enrich themselves, contradicting the initial statement they made to get elected. Overall, socialism is good on paper, but we've yet to see an administration that has been able to pull it off, without abuse of power. Of course in the rise of Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, and many others who I believe are good and honest politicians, might change that. I personally in future years would enjoy seeing Representative Ocasio Cortez's candidacy. I don't agree with her on

everything, but the fact that she is a powerful woman who takes her job seriously and knows clear and well what she supports and believes proves she can make a change.
Why is socialism coming back?
Well, we all know that during and post the Cold War, we had a certain image of socialists. The radical left, nonpatriots who wanted to kill everyone, and given the circumstances, yes, it seemed reasonable. But nowadays, with this terrible imbalance of power and the economy, it seems to speak to a lot of people. Think of it, a long time ago, Bernie Sanders seemed to be a crazy radical, but now, because of the levels of poverty, a lot of people have been proved wrong.
Jeff Bezos during the pandemic has about 175.3 billion dollars. Compare that to the average American who makes 48, 516. He lives like a king compared to other people, so when socialists propose income taxes to give back to the public, it doesn't seem too crazy to

the people who have been left jobless because of COVID and are living in their cars.
Donald Trump has a team of medical professionals who are taking care of him. He has 2.5 billion dollars. He is being transported from Walter Reed Hospital to his home hospital, in his private helicopter. So when socialists propose free healthcare, it doesn't seem like a bad idea.
Elizabeth Warren's 2 cent plan doesn't seem like a bad idea.
AOC's Green New Deal doesn't seem like a bad idea.
Why? Because the 99% is tired of being walked all over by the 1%.
Socialism is back because people want to see change. People are losing their jobs, so they can't pay rent, so they lose their homes. They can't give food to their kids because they don't have enough money. When

kids are malnourished, they get sick so they need to go to the doctor, but people can't afford to go to the doctor.
I don't consider myself a socialist. I don't identify with that faction of the democratic party, but if a socialist opposed Donald Trump, I'd take the socialist any day of the week over that clown.
I'm not saying that socialism is a solution to our problems. I think that extremities always lead to something bad. The far left is just as dangerous as the far-right, but I do feel that with the way the economy is right now, it does make sense. I think people need to see that these socialists politicians aren't proposing a totalitarian regime. They aren't trying to turn the US into North Korea. They simply want the top 1% to lighten the very heavy load that the lower, working, and middle class carries every day.
A poll in August showed that more Democrats support socialism than they do capitalism. If socialism took over America, life would be very different, and before you rush into a panic, know that socialism comes with

pros and cons, just like capitalism. Nordic countries, like Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. These countries are known as very safe, peaceful countries where healthcare is free. These countries are the socialist dream. Maybe in Latin America, where corruption is everywhere, socialism does not work. In these countries, there is no corruption, therefor this system works to perfection. Socialists in America want to follow the example these Nordic countries have set, and you can make up your mind whether that's a good thing or bad. Just to show that the goal is not Cuba, it's a country where socialism has succeeded. In a socialist America, the government would promote mass unionization of the workforce, and increase legal protections for workers. There would also be a national health insurance system where healthcare is affordable. There would be an increase in paid leave for parents and provided free child care. The government would establish a social wealth fund, and over time fill that fund, and eventually give back to the public. Socialism also believes that if you work somewhere you should have a say in how it's run.

Rashida Tlaib says, "Call it what you want, it's about making communities more equal".
Socialist politicians say their work is about putting human needs before corporate greed. Socialists also believe in abolishing ICE, which I feel I need to talk about. I don't agree with the work ICE has done. As a Latina and as a human, ICE tears us apart. I also do not believe that ICE should be abolished. ICE is divided into 3 divisions, and the one that causes all the trouble is ERO. The other two, OPLA and HSI, do important work that the country needs, like cracking down on international crime, like drug and human trafficking, or weapon smuggling. Socialism would also contribute to ending the systematic oppression of communities of color. Socialism believes that all people are equal, at least the idea. In capitalism, everyone is at a different advantage, and everyone grows wealth in different ways, and some grow more wealth than others. Who is at that disadvantage? People of color. Again and again, people of color are at the bottom, with little resources. We wouldn't fix racial inequality with socialism, but it would help.

Socialists wouldn't abolish corporations but would tax them more because their profits could be split amongst the American people. Socialists feel that their form of government is a round table. Everyone has a say, everyone has a voice.
Overall, socialism is not as horrible as it seems, and if I'm talking about its advantages, why am I not a socialist?
Because it's too good to be true. It's my ideal government, but I don't trust the government enough to do this. So here is my message to socialists. If one of you is ever elected to the presidency, prove to me that you can make it work, then you have my vote.