By Robin Lehman
The Republicans have gone back to the 1950s and the red scare. It seems that everything they disagree with is socialist or communist. Democrats, meanwhile, have to defend themselves against that nasty accusation. We Reds are going to put all of you capitalist Americans in gulags. Whether it’s Critical Race Theory, Black Lives Matter, Build Back Better or The Squad, it’s Marxist communism.
Of course, this sound bite argument is meant to scare and divert the conversation from trying to figure out our history and how to change to make our country better. But until we admit to the structural oppression and make a concerted effort to overcome it, we will remain a divided, unequal and undemocratic society.
Africans were kidnapped, enslaved and forced to work: Indians had their lands and cultures stolen. This is undeniable.
I believe this is the inevitable result of capitalism.
This is what our national hero Martin Luther King Jr. had to say about socialism:
“…It is worth noting that Abraham Lincoln warmly recognized the support of Karl Marx during the civil war and corresponded with him freely. … Our irrational, obsessive, anti-communism has led us into too many quagmires to be retained as if it was a model of scientific thinking.”
Martin Luther King is saying that we have to have this conversation: socialism or capitalism? Abraham Lincoln understood that socialism and capitalism needed to be discussed and debated.
Come on! We can’t come together without discussing capitalism versus socialism. This has to happen.
So why do y’all keep saying communist as the N-word? If you want to discuss reality you have to confront the fact that millions of our fellow Americans are socialist. We’re not scary. We just believe that social love means that nobody should be homeless or hungry or unclothed (or unloved?)
That should be the priority, not individual wealth. Socialists believe that we are all responsible for each other. If you work you shouldn’t be worried about your next billing.
Work with us. We want to work with you. We know we have to. You are in the majority.
Why are you afraid of us? Everybody in power is against us: both Trump and Biden: both Fox news and NPR: both Republicans and Democrats. So, don’t worry about us trying to overthrow the government/deep state/corporate status quo.
All I’m saying here is that we want to be included in the conversation and we won’t go back into the closet.
Robin Lehman, Warren.
