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As Afghanistan is burning – with？American citizens left behind the？enemy lines by Joe Biden, at the mercy of the？murderous Taliban –？Washington’s socialists don’t sleep.
Having sunk $2.2？trillion of your？money into yet another failed nation-building project, the leftists,？headed up by Confiscator in Chief Bernie Sanders, are conjuring？up？additional schemes of how to leech another $3.5 trillion from？hard-working？Americans. Sanders is dead set on delivering on his？goal stated in August 2020,？"We must first elect Biden, then keep？pushing country further left."
As an immigrant to America from？a socialist country, I am distressed？about the monumental shift of my adopted？homeland toward socialism. I？am compelled to warn my fellow Americans what？socialism is really？about.
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Let me put in context what the promises of free？stuff and？equality for all, by elitists like Sanders, really mean.
Socialism is an evil system, incompatible？with freedom and？democracy. It doesn’t work because it is based on unrealistic？theories？that ignore human nature. It has failed everywhere. And it could also？destroy America.
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Socialism idealistically？looks for government to create complete？equality in society and to end？suffering—a noble-sounding idea. To？achieve this goal, the government promises？to give everyone life’s？necessities, regardless of people’s merit for pay or？desire to work.？However, it must find the money for all these necessities.？Historically, socialist governments have confiscated wealth and？income to pay？for them. Ultimately, the government runs everything.
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Lessons I learned as a child？are worth repeating to younger？Americans today. The first problem with？socialism is not only that？socialists eventually run out of other people’s？money, as Margaret？Thatcher once famously said, it is also that socialist？societies stop？producing wealth altogether. If individuals cannot keep the？wealth？they create, they stop creating it. Most people make the rational？decision: do mediocre work, because the same amount is paid？regardless how hard？they work.
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Once the state kills entrepreneurship,？the society will stop？innovating. Do you know why Americans have a potato？peeler,？garlic crusher and apple cutter in their kitchens, for example, while？Russians use a knife for everything? Because there was no financial？incentive？for Soviet citizens to create them. The same logic,？tragically, applies to？creating blood pressure medicine and cures for？cancer.
The second problem with？socialism is that, as scarcity of goods？grows, those in charge of wealth？redistribution start taking care of？their needs first, rationing goods and？services for everyone except？themselves. There comes a point when the society？simply doesn’t？produce enough necessities, forcing ordinary people not part of？the？state apparatus to cheat and steal to survive. Two distinct classes of？people form: those who are part of the system (the privileged) and？everyone？else (the oppressed).
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In the Soviet Union, the？Communist Party elites (we called them？apparatchiki,？because they were？part of the state？apparatus) had everything, and everyone else struggled. We？lacked such basics as toothpaste, pantyhose, toilet paper and？sanitary？products. Party members, who were less than 10% of the Soviet adult？population, shopped at different？grocery stores, were treated at different？medical facilities, and？had other privileges. Everyone, for example, had "free"？medical care, but you only saw a doctor if there was an？emergency.
Socialism is inhumane, forcing？people to do unethical things out of？desperation. My mother was stealing meat？from the food factory？where she worked to feed our family. Our family was not？particularly poor by Soviet standards, but there was nothing to buy.？There were？simply not enough goods and services for everyone,？although they were all？technically "free."
During the past few years, I？have increasingly felt like socialism is？resurfacing in America.
A third problem with？socialism is the state’s complete control over？individuals. In fact, being？called an "individualist" has a derogatory？connotation in Russian. Under？socialism, since the state "takes care"？of its people by providing everything？"for free," it plays the？dominant role in all spheres of life. It tells you？what to do, where to？live, what to wear, what to say and what to think. It？censors？everything.
There are laws and rules for everything. There is no free？press, literature or cinematography. No religion. No presumption of？innocence.？No rights. No property. Suppression of dissent is routine？and brutal.？Eventually, people start to self-censor to avoid？persecution. You speak and？appear to think "correctly."
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Socialism creates a society？of "one-percenters" and "ninety-nine-percenters," except the one-percenters are？the ones who redistribute？wealth, not the ones who create it. Having lived in a？country where？everything was "free" but nothing was available, I am terrified？when？I hear proposals for a single-payer medical system, "Medicare-for-all," or？"free college for all."
During the past few years, I？have increasingly felt like socialism is？resurfacing in America. The rise of？pervasive political correctness,？growing intolerance toward religious people,？and alienation of and？even attacks on people whose views don’t conform to the？mainstream orthodoxy remind me of my youth in the USSR. I find？myself repeating？the same admonitions to my children that my？mother frequently gave my sister？and me: "Don’t believe everything？you hear on TV, think for yourself, and keep？your and your family’s？views private.
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Ironically, just like my？parents tried to shield me from untruths and？brainwashing by Soviet schools by？explaining at our dinner table the？truth behind Soviet indoctrination, I’ve？found myself pulling my？children from public schools and placing them into？religious schools？in order to avoid heavy and biased government-sponsored？indoctrination.
It was painful for me to watch my little ones coming？home and？spouting how oppressive America is when I know？firsthand what oppression really？means. I also could not bear？watching my kids coming home sad and confused？because they were？simply not old enough to be bombarded with all the？sex-related？garbage that the school pushed on them under the rubric of "family？education." Family education, in my view, truly belongs within the？family.
Big Tech and the mainstream？media’s taking on the roles of the？government’s mouthpieces and agents of？influence is frightening.？Silencing those who express "incorrect" opinions by？de-platforming？them on social media, banning their books, and blacklisting them？to？ensure they cannot make a living—simply because they have strayed？from the？"party line"—is the method of totalitarian states to suppress？dissent and？ensure total control.
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I sincerely hope more and？more of our citizens wake up and？recognize these markers of a Sovietization of？America so that we can？regain the freedom of the America that my mother sent me？to at a？young age. I hope Americans keep the right to express unpopular？views？without fear of being ostracized by fellow citizens or losing？their jobs,？continue to enjoy presumption of innocence and due？process, and be free from？unlawful government surveillance for？having "incorrect" politics.
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Socialism inevitably results？in stagnation and tyranny. If we don’t？want our nation to join the ranks of？failed and oppressive socialist？countries, we must fight socialism in America with？all we’ve got.
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