So’s your old man
Having been called a socialist earlier today got me pondering the political labels we all throw around so casually. I doubt that my accuser passed political science or ever bothered to look up the word he aimed at me. It doesn’t bother me at all to be called a socialist, regardless of how inaccurate that label may be. It would put me in a class by myself, I’m pretty sure. The only socialist business magazine editor in this country. Quite a distinction.
One of the reasons I don’t mind being called a socialist is because I have read and understand history. Socialists gave us the 40 hour work week, paid vacations and holidays, an end to child labor and sweatshops. Who among us has not benefited from that? When you leave work at 5:00 this Friday, thank a socialist.
Of course, there is also a thing called social security. I have yet to hear of a so-called conservative who has turned that down when those government checks start rolling in. The wealthy folk in this nation have always enjoyed the benefits of socialism while the rest of us have had to get by with free enterprise.
My own political beliefs hardly lend themselves to labeling. I belong to no political party, and cast my votes without regard to such distinctions. I am a committed environmentalist, and therefore a conservative in the truest sense of the word. I believe that a nation’s expenditures should not exceed its revenues, a position that could hardly be labeled as liberal, much less socialist.
I have vocally and editorially supported a recent law that bans individuals from suing fast food companies for making them fat. I believe that a critical part of the solution to this nation’s health care crisis lies with individuals taking responsibility for their own well-being. Sounds a lot like Ayn Rand.
Yes, I demonstrated in favor of civil rights and against the Vietnam war. As a Vietnam vet, I earned that right. Just as I earned the right to vehemently oppose any war fought for the economic benefit of a few. That encompasses most of them.
As for the rest of them, I am an ordained minister who opposes religious fundamentalism of any stripe, realizing that such blind adherence to dogmatic control has caused untold suffering through the ages.
All this makes it pretty damned hard to slap some political label on me without looking pretty silly. But don’t let that stop you. I will defend to the death any person’s right to make a fool of him or herself.
10:27:44 PM 
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