Why I am Not a Socialist  

and you shouldn’t be either!

There are thousands of people in Europe who have been ignored and suppressed, that could passionately warn naïve Americans about the insidious dangers of Socialism. Two German ladies came to Morning Star Baptist Church and shared with me the dire situation of this upcoming election. The one lady was eleven years old when Adolph Hitler came to power, and she said in sober tones, “you Americans are about to make a grave mistake” she continued “Socialism is very close to Fascism and it will Destroy America!”

Allow me to share ten reasons why I am NOT a Socialist.

1. Socialism disguises itself to level the economical playing field, but in reality, the middle and lower income brackets are penalized when the wealthy are overtaxed.

2. Socialism has proven historically that Communism is the goal. Because Socialism cannot achieve its tenets unless there exists an increase of totalitarian control from the Government.

3. Socialism preys on the sympathies of the wealthy convincing them that Egalitarianism is humanitarian and your civic duty. In actuality, voluntary charity through churches and non-profit agencies is a better way. Americans stopped giving after FDR’s New Deal was implemented in 1933. Legislating donations destroys the spirit of giving.

4. Socialism encourages class envy. The middle and lower income classes ought to be thankful for the wealthy because they spend their money, create jobs, and they help stabilize the economy. Envy and jealous suspicion are counterproductive.

5. Socialism destroys incentive and ambition. Entrepreneurs and businessmen see their prospects for getting ahead as being limited. Human nature (which is inherently depraved and self-centered) will not tolerate the lazy being rewarded from their own hard work. While teaching at a High School in Southern Oregon, I challenged my Economic Class with this illustration. I said: “It is not fair that students with low grades should suffer and those with high grades bask in the rewards of hard work while those who have D’s and C’s barely get by. So here is what we are going to do. Those who earned 90% and above are going to now receive the final grade of an 80 or 85%. The donated points will be shared with those who are failing and barely passing.” I then explained: “This way the whole class will pass and all will share in the wealth.”  WOW - after about 3 minutes several hands went up!!! “Mr. Ferrell, this is WRONG!!” “Why” I asked. “Because the students who are doing badly are getting the grades they deserve. They are lazy, and if you give them undeserved high marks, they will be lazier.” “Besides” said one student “If this is the new class rule, then why should I work hard to get a better grade? - I will just coast and live off the hard work of others.” “Yes, but if all you guys do this, the overall grades will go down and then how will this benefit the underachieving students?” I asked. There was a look of bewilderment (I love teaching teens!!) A student in the back exclaimed loudly: “I GET IT!!”  “If we stop rewarding success, and reward laziness and failure, the entire class will suffer!!”  And I said…. “AMEN, by George you GOT IT!!!!”

6. Socialism promotes greater corruption in the higher elected offices of Government. They become the elite bourgeoisie that they so hypocritically attacked. Big Government becomes the monster with the insatiable appetite for more and more tax dollars.

7. Socialism breeds dishonest hypocrisy, while claiming to champion the causes of minorities and the poor, they perpetuate more poverty (“the poor you have always with you” - a wise Saviour said) and ignore the rights of the unborn, the infirmed, and the aged. Amoral Abortion and Euthanasia are intricate parts of the Socialist agenda.

8. Socialism promotes a false hope that Government is the answer to our problems. The Constitution limits government because the framers understood that without checks and balances, Government becomes abusive. The scope of Government is to provide a healthy general welfare (NOT Handouts!!) so that the free market enterprise can thrive in a laissez-faire atmosphere. People have forgotten that God, your right hand, and then your family should be consulted for help - NOT your Government!

9. Socialism cannot tolerate biblical Christianity, because Jesus Christ promoted a capitalistic ethic. Case in point: The parable of the Talents: 1, 2, and 5 talents (Matthew 25:14-30), and the Parable of the Day’s Wage for those who worked in the field (Matthew 20:1-16). Christianity teaches personal responsibility (I Timothy 5:8) and the ethic of hard work; if a man is not willing to work, he is not worthy to eat (II Thessalonians 3:10-12). An empty stomach is a great incentive.

10. Socialism destroys freedom, self reliance, and moral courage. Because once a man discovers that he can mooch off the system, his character is perverted and weakened.  “Food tastes better when it is out of your garden!”

If not in the next few days, perhaps in the near future, America as we know it is going to be gone. Alexander Tyler said in 1787 “A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that the voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.”

Soon America will move into the next phase

1. From bondage to spiritual faith

2. From spiritual faith to great courage

3. From courage to liberty

4. From liberty to abundance

5. From abundance to complacency

6. From complacency to apathy

7. From apathy to dependence

8. From dependence to bondage

G. Campbell Morgan once said: “The attitude of the nations of the world toward a Christian nation which wanders from its Christianity is always that of contempt.”

And a senator from Illinois once listed ten things that cannot be done:

* You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

* You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

* You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

* You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.

* You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

* You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.

* You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should, do for themselves.

Who was this popular community organizer from Illinois? - He was Abraham Lincoln.

Someone has astutely asked: “Is this the humble Republic that godly separatists left the Old World of political intrigue to escape?  Is this of, by or for the people?  Is this the loose knit string of sovereign States confederated for protection alone, with a weak central government for maximum individual liberty?  Is this the unassuming good-neighbor nation Washington envisioned minding its own business and quietly tilling its own soil, worshipping its own God?”

And so my dear American, it was good while it lasted. God has blessed this country and given us several opportunities to repent. Is there still time to claim II Chronicles 7:14 – “ If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Time will tell.

But many true patriots fear that the USA will soon be the USSA - The United States of Socialist America. We are witnessing Ben Franklin’s sun setting on our grand Republic.

As Ronald Reagan (probably America’s Josiah) said: “if we are not a nation under God, we will be a nation gone under.”

I will never be a Socialist and neither should you. This article is being written before the new Socialist Government infringes on free speech, another reason why I detest the liberal media and Socialism.