To the Editor:
I am sympathetic to McKay Burley’s lament (Re:"Why Massena resident voting socialist in 2024") that both political parties have forgotten the working class in America. The …
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To the Editor:
I am sympathetic to McKay Burley’s lament (Re:"Why Massena resident voting socialist in 2024") that both political parties have forgotten the working class in America. The majority of Americans who work, raise families, serve in the military, and contribute freely to their community, have indeed been ignored by our elected servants who pander instead to special interests.
That said, Socialism in any shape or form is not the solution. History and current events conclusively demonstrate that its cure is much worse than the ailment it seeks to solve. The former Soviet Union, present day China, Venezuela, North Korea, and Vietnam practicing this failed ideology ended up impoverished and individual freedoms were abolished.
Socialism in any flavor is an external stick and carrot mechanism to program people to become a fair and just society. Problem is, it never delivers the carrot. Ironically, Socialism ends up creating a tiny elite class to exploit the very people they had promised equality and prosperity. George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” portrayed these socialist elites as being “more equal than others”. When Hugo Chavez in Venezuela nationalized the oil industry under socialism, he promised to share the wealth with all his fellow citizens. Instead, once in power, he and his cronies pulled a bait and switch, enriching themselves with billions of dollars in oil profits, leaving the Venezuelan people starving and poorer than before.
Lest anyone think I'm conflating the practice of communism with socialism, Lenin himself stated “The goal of socialism is communism.” There is no real difference between the two. The one leads to the other. Beware of those who claim it can work “because it hasn't been done right yet.” It never will.
The American Constitution is the best instrument of government for humanity ever to put on paper. Any failure in our nation is not due to an inherent fault of our Constitutional system, only by those elected who neglected or misused their sacred trust failing to uphold their oath of office. Let’s not trade on our true and proven form of limited government for the false and flawed promise of Socialism.
Ron Shirtz
Rensselaer Falls