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To those who demonize the poor by equating “helping the poor” with “spreading the wealth” and “socialism”, I suggest you take the:
The Socialist-Free Purity Pledge
“I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life. I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following:
“Social Security – Medicare/Medicaid – State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP) – Police, Fire, and Emergency Services – US Postal Service — Roads and Highways — Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA) — The US Railway System — Public Subways and Metro Systems –Public Bus and Light Rail Systems — Rest Areas on Highways — Sidewalks –All Government-Funded Local/State Projects — Public Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower, dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!) — Public and State Universities and Colleges — Public Primary and Secondary Schools — Public Museums — Libraries –Public Parks and Beaches — State and National Parks — Public Zoos — Unemployment Insurance — Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services –Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From Local, State or Federal Government (pretty much all of them) — Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From Any Government Grant or Research Funding (again, pretty much all of them) — Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape and Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions) — Use of the Internets, email, and networked computers, as the DoD’s ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking — Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops That Were Grown With, Fed With, Raised With or That Contain Inputs From Crops Grown With Government Subsidies — Clothing Made from Crops (e.g. cotton) That Were Grown With or That Contain Inputs From Government Subsidies — If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will forgo my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care.”
If you are NOT willing to take this pledge, then stop with the vitriolic rhetoric and behavior.
If you are NOT willing to take this pledge, fold it until it is all sharp corners, sit on it, rotate counterclockwise, and STRIP YOUR GEARS.
Cross-posted from Daily Kos and Newsvine, originally posted March 2011
5 Comments
Pretty good, but you left out a couple of important things: tang(r) and being kept safe from terrorists.
Recommended.
Theoretically this pledge could go on forever. I got into it with one of these people today at work and there’s just no explaining this to them until they have experienced job loss, medical bankruptcy, plummeting property values, the need of a police officer or firefighter, etc. Ayn Rand wrote Atlas Shrugged and then lived off her dead husband’s social security, (a system she never paid into), and got treatment for lung cancer, (which she as an individual ruggedly gave herself by smoking), largely due to the charity of others and medicare, (another system she never paid into). ALL conservatives and so-called “Libertarians” are exactly like this: Everybody else is a lazy, good for nothing bum, getting a free ride off tax money they, (and apparently only they), worked hard for, by themselves with nary an aid from anybody else but when it comes to their need, then grab your guns and Katy, bar the door because they DESERVE it by golly! When you hear one talk about the unfairness of the tax code, what they REALLY mean is that the tax code is unfair because THEY have to pay taxes for the services they receive. Conservatives aren’t against paying taxes, just against themselves having to pay taxes.
Hi Margaret,
It’s an absolute hoot to watch that. My Libertarian friend was all, “I pay my doctor cash on the barrelhead, none of that socialized medicine for me!” He would explain that he had no problem with the govt providing services, but that he wanted to choose the ones he got and pay only for them.
Well, we have true single-payer here in Ontario. Premiums used to be deducted from employees, although nice employers would pay part or all of it. Then it became employer-paid (well, of *course* it came out of $$ the employee earned for the employer, but it wasn’t included in the employee’s income for tax purposes). Now it just comes out of income tax funds and everyone, employed or unemployed, is covered.
But I digress — my friend was all ruggedly individual until he noticed a bulge in his abdomen one morning. Hernia. He found out how much the operation cost (abt 4k) and discovered that his conscience would somehow permit him to sign up for OHIP. He is a dear friend and I did not snicker.
Good post. I would like to mention, though, that the American definition of “Libertarian” is the opposite of the historical definition. Simply put, there are left-libertarians as well as the right-libertarians in the American Libertarian Party who would let the corporations run amok. Left-libertarians are friends of socialism. Check out this quote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_socialism
“Libertarian socialists generally regard concentrations of power as sources of oppression that must be continually challenged and justified. Most libertarian socialists believe that when power is exercised, as exemplified by the economic, social, or physical dominance of one individual over another, the burden of proof is always on the authoritarian to justify their action as legitimate when taken against its effect of narrowing the scope of human freedom.”