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“For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and they that are led of them are destroyed.” Isaiah 9:16
“Therefore My people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.” Isaiah 5:13
“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” Proverbs 29:2
A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague. —Cicero
Recently several liberal politicians were asked to explain the difference in their political position and the position of a socialist. They either could not or would not answer the question.
First, a socialist will embrace certain classes, races, or groups as a collective; but seldom concern themselves with individuals or non-socialist groups. Second, they believe that all inequalities must be removed, and all people must be made equal. By that, we do not mean equal opportunity but equal outcome. Of course, they do believe a chosen few should be more equal than others. For a socialist, the overriding concern is always promoting socialism; so rules and regulation mean different things for different people. Fidel Castro may have been the leader of a Communist revolution against the evil “rich people” in Cuba, but he’s worth 900 million dollars today. Go figure! Third, they believe if government is wealthy, big, and powerful enough it can solve all problems. Fourth, since common people cannot be trusted with personal or corporate power they favor government control (or ownership) of the economy’s basic industries. Fifth, they seek to establish a cradle-to-grave dependence on government, thus insuring the people will demand the continual advancement of their socialist agenda.
I suppose every generation complains about how the new generation is messing everything up. But, it must be obvious to all, but the most historically challenged, that America has fallen from the position she held just a few years ago. Sadly, the destruction of our nation has not been the result of a foreign power, but has been caused by liberal stupidity. I suppose some might argue it has also been hastened through the sinister planning of those seeking our destruction. Either way, our destruction was not particularly difficult. The foolish socialist mind is easily duped.
Socialism, which was despised by Americans in the past, has suddenly become extremely popular. This has been caused in part by our socialist oriented educational system. Modern Americans know very little about the sordid past of the socialist agenda. Yet, to be honest, socialism also seems to fit in perfectly with our modern way of surface thinking. To the casual observer, socialism is like a miracle drug that appears to fix everything that is wrong. Socialism is “nice” and “fair.” Socialism makes you feel good about helping people who “deserve it” by taking things away from those selfish people that “have so much.”
Until recently, the transition occurred so slowly many failed to recognize what was happening. After all, there has never been a large Socialist party in the United States. That is true, but in reality a large socialist party has not been needed because so many members of the Democrat and Republican parties have aligned themselves with the radical socialist agenda. When it comes to taking control of individuals and businesses, instituting more welfare programs, and increasing the size and reach of government, modern liberal politicians and hard core socialists are difficult to distinguish.
Socialism May be Good For Government, But it is Bad For The Country.
I can easily concede that if I want to assure myself a comfortable and powerful place in government, giving away other people’s money is a good way to do it. I can offer “free” money (welfare), “free” food (food stamps and free meals at school), “free” money (unemployment and disability), “free” medical care (Obamacare), “free” housing (public housing and housing assistance), “free” phones, and even “free” contraception. Giving away free stuff can be fun, but even a simpleton knows there is really no such thing as free stuff. Someone has to pick up the check. Of course, as long as that someone is someone else most folks don’t seem to mind. Joining the flat-butt society and accepting money your neighbors had to work for is a great socialist past-time. Yet, free stuff can really get expensive. It will end up costing you your ambition, your achievement, and your liberty.
The Wall Street Journal found in 2011, 49 percent of Americans lived in a household where at least one member of the family received a government benefit. That puts our nation at a tipping point as almost half of all taxpayers pay no income tax and nearly half of all Americans receive some form of direct government support. The official poverty rate hovers between 12 and 15 percent, the same place it was back in the late 1960’s in spite of a 927 billion dollar means-tested welfare spending budget. Is it just me, or is something wrong with this picture?
There are some who will acknowledge that socialism has not worked in other countries, but they assure us it will work in America. They contend that we are different from the rest of the world and with our ingenuity we can make it work. Yet, it has already been tried in America. Let’s see what happens when the Federal government decides it is best for you to be helpless, hopeless, clueless, churchless, desperate, despondent, and dependent.
What Socialism Did for the Native American.
The native people living in America were a proud, brave, self-reliant people until they were conquered by the United States. We all know they were handily defeated by our military, but few realize their greater decimation came from our politicians. They were herded onto reservations and promised perpetual care from a benevolent government. We would give them free food so there would be no need for hunting (you will no longer need your weapons). We awarded them free land which was first confiscated from them. We also offered them free medical care, free clothing, free schooling, and free money. They’d never again have to provide for themselves. This sounds like a great deal, but it was not. The American Indians paid a huge price for those “free” things.
These proud, independent, self-sustaining people lost their ambition to excel and improve their station in life. Even with the racial persecution they endured, they could have learned (as some did) to excel in the new America, but they were destroyed by the crushing hopelessness of the welfare state. The result has been generations living in poverty and misery, dying of alcoholism, suicide, and disease. By “providing for them,” the government took away the Native Americans’ ability and will to provide for themselves.
The American Indian has been a victim of American socialism longer than any other group. Let’s see what it has done for them. Of all the ethnic groups in our country, the American Indians have the highest rate of school drop outs, the highest rate of child mortality, the highest rate of suicide, the highest rate of teenage pregnancy. Furthermore, their life expectancy of 55 years is most likely lower than it was before the Europeans brought “civilization” to the new world.
Changing the name of the Washington Redskins may be the politically correct thing to do, but it was an experiment in American socialism that was the most offensive thing we have done to this proud and noble people.
What Socialism Did for the African American.
Can you imagine black unemployment being at 4%? Those days did exist, but to find it you will have to go back to the time when racial discrimination and segregation were openly practiced. Isn’t it amazing that in a day when half the black people didn’t finish high school their chance to earn a living to support their family was actually higher than it is today? Today, in a less segregated America, the African American unemployment rate is about three times higher than it was back then. Furthermore, if you happen to be wondering where the highest unemployment rates are, you only need to look at our most socialistic cities (Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Washington, etc.).
In 1964, Republicans were responsible for passing the Civil Rights Act. This act was intended to provide all people, regardless of race or sex, an equal access to all public facilities. The act also banned unequal voter requirements insuring all the right to vote. Although, in my opinion, the act was hastily and foolishly written thus insuring some of the problems we are facing today, it still could have been a valuable piece of legislation. Could have been! Unfortunately, our government had a more insidious plan.
The Civil Rights Act did not improve black employment opportunities, as gains in up-scale career fields actually decreased after the act was passed. The Civil Rights Act did help address some needed inequalities; but the biggest thing it accomplished was to give the federal government unprecedented power over every business in the country. Suddenly, hiring practices, employee policies, and customer service procedures came under strict federal scrutiny. This resulted in a massive violation of the rights of private property and contract.
The second socialist blow also came in 1964 as Democrat Lyndon Johnson began his presidential campaign with the theme of a “Great Society.” Johnson’s socialist agenda won popular support while assuring the decline of American civilization, especially for blacks. What few realized at the time was the “Great Society” was never intended to create a better America. It was intended to enable government to take more from us, polarize us to prevent our uniting, and to have us look to an all-powerful government for everything. Although a few elements of the program may have proven beneficial, in general Blacks didn’t need the Great Society, but government needed those programs to enslave them to their system. The Master whose good pleasure must supply our most basic needs still lives in the unapproachable big white house with the big columns.
Of course the white working class was forced to finance the programs, but the system was cruelest to blacks who were stripped of dignity, not by evil white plantation owners, but by the federal masters in Washington. The amount of taxpayer money spent on welfare programs and aid to individuals between 1965 and 1970 was the largest transfer of wealth in history. But it had no appreciable effect, as the poverty rate did not decrease as intended. This was a staggering and expensive failure that bore terrible consequences. Programs that had been created to “help” not only encouraged unemployment, but it led to an explosion of out-of-wedlock births. Back in 1963 the rate of black illegitimacy was 23 percent, today it nears 70 percent. It is interesting that even during the days of slavery, when marriage was often prohibited; most black children lived with a biological mother and father. During Reconstruction and up until the 1940s, 80% of black children lived in two-parent families. Today, more than 70% of black children are born to single women. With modern welfare programs it is often financially advantageous for many to live outside the bounds of a traditional family.
But, it didn’t stop there. Later, as programs were expanded to give hand-outs to men, the unemployment rate began to rise, and with the idleness of unemployment came a rise in crime and drug use. Homicide rates climbed 122 percent between 1963 and 1980 and the number of black men arrested between 1966 and 1970 skyrocketed 866 percent. Suddenly, it was no longer a shame to accept free money; however the free stuff came at a terrible price. Today, the notion that welfare is a “right” has trapped millions in government dependency.
The poverty rate in the black community had been slowly but steadily declining, but suddenly in 1968 when most of the new welfare programs were fully implemented, the progress stopped and has not fallen any further since. Families were destroyed as the welfare programs expanded and created under the Great Society made an income producing husband or father no longer necessary. The welfare state has done to black Americans what slavery and the harshest racism couldn’t do, it destroyed the black family.
What are we to learn from this? Although we can all applaud the progress African-Americans have made over these past few decades, this was accomplished in spite of government programs not because of them. The politicians who imposed their foolish and short-sighted social and economic visions, long ago sabotaged the basic building blocks of a long lasting prosperity and contentment in the black community.
What Socialism is Doing to Middle Class White Americans.
And now the same socialist do-gooders that brought devastation to Native American and African American families, are now proud to offer the same misery to middle class White Americans. Surely, you see the parallel? Now it is the White man’s turn to become dependent. We see the trend already beginning to materialize. More and more our foundations are being wiped away as all Americans are becoming mere slaves to a group of socialist politicians and government employees who “take care” of us throughout our lives.
What Can We Expect for the Future?
Socialist will continue their attacks upon the church, the family, our morality, and our educational system. They will also continue to destroy our self-reliance, competitiveness, and sense of community. We must also be prepared for:
A Slowing Economy. Socialism strangles economic growth by penalizing success and rewarding failure. When you take from the producers in a society to give it to the non-producers, you quite naturally reduce the number of productive people. This leads to a never-ending cycle. Soon the economy will slow down, and even more people will request assistance. Eventually, our country will not be able to produce enough tax revenue to sustain itself.
Less Freedom of Speech and Descent: Socialism requires protection, intimidation, and darkness to survive. It cannot survive honest, informed debate. We will see the term “hate speech” being applied more frequently in the future. Old words and terms will receive new definitions. President Ronald Reagan once said, “How do you tell a communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.”
An Increasingly Tyrannical Government: The more socialism you have, the less freedom you will have. Any segment of society that is not tightly controlled will naturally move towards individuality and freedom. So, socialism requires a massive growing centralized bureaucracy that will protect us from ourselves (and protect it from us). The institution of government is ordained of God and is needed for an orderly society. However, I am against tyranny. As government becomes more socialist, by default it will become more oppressive and tyrannical.
A More Divided America: Socialism is all about turning people against each other. It has to be. After all, if you believe in controlling people’s lives, the people who don’t wish to be controlled need to be vilified. There must always be a “victim” class. Should one class manage to pull themselves up in spite of government attempts to hold them back (many hard working African-Americans), then a new victim class must be created (illegal immigration). After all, if everyone is responsible for himself, what need is there for the socialist? Ultimately, those who depend on government for their livelihood and those government loots to pay them will grow to despise each other.
America has been uniquely and providentially blessed. Imagine the benefit of having the generation that produced the insight and wisdom of our Founding Fathers. These mortal men, with God’s grace, devised a Constitution that has brought us unparalleled freedom and prosperity. Our natural resources are without parallel: not just rich and productive land, but vast resources of iron, coal and oil under the ground. We didn’t put them there; we were just blessed by God to dwell in this land of wealth. We have had the opportunity to share our wealth with people around the world. We still feed and protect much of the world’s population. Can you name a nation that has been blessed more in these past 250 years?
As we celebrate another birthday for our nation may we reflect on the fact that most of us enjoy freedoms we have not risked our lives to establish, protect, or preserve. Yet, by the simple providence of birth we have been bequeathed an incredible legacy. But, this legacy is under vicious attack. May we be willing to ask the hard questions about the direction our country is taking and work to preserve American liberty for future generations.
Dr. Worthington has been in the ministry forty years and serves as President of Pathway Ministries.