Make Mine FreedomWith all the talk about who is and who isn't a Socialist or a Communist or a Marxist, I found this vintage cartoon that will go a long way to clarify those terms and help you identify who falls into those descriptions.
This snappy little film was made in 1948 and it's eerily contemporary in its depiction of economic conditions. It's not something you're going to see in any elementary school today. It doesn't spew the typical Liberal/Progressive line commonly found in state-run schools. It's what kids generations ago used to see to learn about America, before the "American Dream" became a nightmare.
Just a warning: It's not politically correct. It's not multicultural. It's not in 3-D. It's not a Pixar production.
But here's what it is: a crystal clear example of what we're struggling with right now, this very day, with Americans facing rising unemployment, sky high taxation, and an unpopular health care takeover by the federal government.
Watch it with an open mind and share it with your kids. It's a classic.
Let me know if this helped you or your children. I hope it opens up a few eyes to what's at stake. For more information about the difference between capitalism and socialism/communism/Marxism click here.
I appreciate your comments.
Thanks for visiting!
12 comments:
That is a real eye-opener...how do we get people to open their eyes to watch and understand? I cringe at the direction this wonderful country is heading...headlong...too many 'snake oil salesman in office right now...I am willing to fight to 'Make Mine Freedom'. Thanks for the video.
SG!! Thanks so much for your comment!! I sure hope it gets around so that people can clearly understand what's at stake. Soon American History won't be taught in any state-run school. It's already been replaced by "Current Events" only in many school districts. How will the young ever be exposed to our exceptional history? Thanks again & for the re-Tweet, too! :D
I am from the U.K., and of the old fashioned left tradition.
I believe firmly in help for those who need it, the young, the old and the sick and am happy to pay for it.
I am not happy to pay for those who won't as opposed to those who can't work.
I am not happy to pay for young women who deliberately become pregnant in order to qualify for benefits and housing.
I am not happy that the education offered to the most deprived children does nothing to make them think, but peddles platitudes about 'diversion' and 'difference'.
These kids need all the help they can get to be happy, responsible citizens and they are being let down.
I am not happy that the U.K. is abandoning the virtues that made it worthy of respect....true politeness, not political correctness, tolerance and honesty.
The U.K. never had the American dream, but my parents' and grandparents' generations worked hard to ensure that every kid should have a fair chance at life, nomatter where he came from, that illness should not mean ruin and that old age should have dignity.
In as few short years, all this has been overturned.
All power to your elbow to get people to think about the way their country is going.
America has a wonderful history...Americans should not let it be betrayed as the U.K. has done to its history.
Whoops..a typo...that should be 'diversity' not 'diversion'. The steam coming from my ears must have obscured the keyboard!
Fly!! Thank you so much for your perspective on this whole mess. I think the left has a very proud and equal position in British politics that we don't completely share. In America, there has always been a distrust of the fundamental difference between being an individual and being one of a collective. I don't know if it originates from the vastness of this country and the necessity of relying on oneself in the wilderness or if it's something that developed because most of the people who came here did so because they wanted to be individuals and escape countries where their freedoms were restricted.
It's not to say that a nation of individuals is selfish. Quite the contrary, most people here feel as you do, that we must and want to help those that cannot help themselves. We also balk at helping those that won't help themselves. We are among the most generous people on the planet, everyone always giving to charities, churches, and local fundraisers. It's what we do. We give, give, give, as much as we can all the time.
But most Americans draw the line at giving up their personal control of what they have to give. We deeply resent the government [any and there are many layers -- city, county, state, federal] taking everything we have and giving it willy-nilly to anyone they deem worthy. We fervently wish to retain the choice of where we give and who we support under our own control. Americans respect the concept of choice in every aspect of our lives.
We do not want the federal government controlling our health. We'd like it improved for those without good health care, but we believe the current proposals on the table are unfair, confiscatory, and punish those that are and have been responsible for their own health care. It is especially troubling for seniors.
We have also seen the health care in the UK deteriorate over the last few years. It's awful!
And yes, I agree that the values of our parents and grandparents assured that everyone should have a fair chance at a good future and look forward to an old age with dignity. That's the way it was here, too. Families helped their own, and others, through generous contributions to the charities of choice.
Sadly, with all of that being usurped by government to the point of losing ALL of our choices in the matter, coupled with the unemployment crisis, and the general social malaise and it's a prescription for trouble.
I am sure there will be more on this on my blog as the months unfold toward the November elections. My advice is throw the rascals out and go back to our traditional values. But, that's my choice. We'll see what happens.
Thanks again for your thoughtful comments. :D
Thanks for your explanations...the traditional left in the U.K. had strong Christian, non conformist roots, and this background acted as a balance to organised labour and the self styled intellectuals, so there was never the 'collective' impulse which is apparent in European 'isms' if I might borrow from the video.
Individualism was encouraged, within a framework of responsibility to others.
I wouldn't necessarily want the U.S. government running health care either. I would love to see health professionals running their own show...which used to be the case in the National Health Service...without political shenanigans.
Fly!! Yes, I had forgotten the strong Christian and non-conformist roots of traditional British socialism. Thanks for that excellent explanation!
I think that's why so many wonderful British people came over here and flourished and kept our charitable institutions thriving. It is our Christian duty to help others, yet retain our individuality. They brought those values and made them fundamental to the American character. [Christian as well as many other religions, too.]
The labor movement discourages individualism, that's for sure! Pure collectivism. It's the same the world over. And like you say, coupled with the self-styled intellectuals, it's the strongest argument for collectivism short of of violent revolution the left can muster.
I did not know that in the early days of National Health UK doctors ran their own businesses. That is good to know. Many doctors here are planning early retirement if some of the more punishing elements of health care reform is instituted. Too bad. We need all our health care professionals!! What a sorry mess this whole thing has become.
I really appreciate your perspective as a European with direct experience of two slightly different forms of socialized medicine, in the UK and in France. Yours is a voice that needs to be heard. It would certainly help the undecided go one way or the other and it would be excellent information for Congress to have at their fingertips. But members of Congress who disagree with the majority party aren't even being listened to, so don't hold your breath you will be asked for your opinion! LOL
That is one reason so many Tea Party organizations have sprung up. [The name is based on the Boston Tea Party of pre-Revolutionary times.] These organizations are springing up all over the US to protest not only high taxes but government imposed health care reform. [They are ridiculed by the leftist/elitists and the media who have declared war on the ordinary American. Very sad.]
I saw something where there are now Tea Parties in the UK, set up by the Libertarians. That is very interesting! I hope they have some good points to make and have success.
Again, I thank you for your insight and perspective! It is most appreciated! :D
You have no idea how valuable your commentaries are to me.
I am just dipping the toe into american waters and I have a whole lot to learn, just as when I arrived in France and learned that what you saw what not what you got- with the aid of local friends who put me wise to a lot.
I'm sure we're all a bit parochial, but, for me, that's where it counts. Decent people who want the best for their communities
Thinking about what you have said, if I can help in anyway to assist in the health funding debate in the U.S.A. let me know.
I'm sure it is a long shot but if you think it would be helpful to have witness from the British National Health Service and the French equivalent, from a legal background as well as that of the user, then let me know.
I have a second home in Costa Rica and encounter a number of Americans who seem to think that Europe is communis...deep sigh!
Fly!!! I think your views would be excellent!! Americans are afraid of this whole thing because of the take over by the government of one sixth of our economy.
As for Europe being communistic, it is easy to see why many Americans think that is so because of so many small countries with so many different regulations compared to the vastness of so much of America. We really resent any government entity telling us what we can and cannot do. It's the little things that rile us up the most -- like this for example: plastic grocery bags are being banned from many grocery stores. A few years ago many stores stopped providing paper bags. It's the inconveniences of packing cloth bags and knowing how many to take each time to the store. It's basically an annoying inconvenience, but it is Big Brother controlling the smallest things about our lives. We're just fiercely independent. We want to make up our own minds. When we've been shown that plastic bags are wasteful and paper bags are expensive to manufacture, we will gladly use our cloth bags and not gripe so much. But when the government says, "Thou shalt not..." we bristle. These nit-picky things go on every day. As we understand it, Europe is miles ahead of us on this sort of thing. It simply looks like too much unnecessary government control to most Americans. And shorthand for that is communism. LOL
I have a few places that you can contact right away with your story. I have chosen media outlets to allow you to make your contacts in several different ways. I have no politicians on this list, as I have to look them up, which I will do and pass on to you in another post. The following outlets include print, new media, and an investigative television reporter, who is also an attorney and on air personality.
The Weekly Standard
1150 17th Street, NW
Suite 505
Washington, DC 20036
E-mail: editor@weeklystandard.com
202-293-4900
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http://newsbusters.org/contact
News Busters fill in form
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Wall Street Journal Online
Letters to the Editor
Editor: wsj.ltrs@wsj.com
Editorial Page: edit.features@wsj.com
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Greta Van Susteren
http://www.foxnews.com/ontherecord/index.html
email: Ontherecord@foxnews.com
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Don't forget to include your complete contact information. Now I'm going to look for some politicians willing to listen. Might take a while. LOL When I do, I will post another reply here.
I have no other guidelines to offer for your response, but to be yourself, tell it as you experienced it over the years in both countries, and include all your contact information. I would be thrilled if you had a dialogue going with them and they were really listening to you.
I will provide more information about the above contacts, if you would like. I will also look for additional outlets and provide another list. I'd like you to email me, [if you would like to] here's my address, written in that funny way used to fool the spam-bots: sfranch76 at yahoo dot com
Good luck and I look forward to hearing from you!! :D
All I can offer is what is called anecdotal evidence...you know,what actually happens...but I have a strong legal background so can hope to give backup to my stories.
I will be contacting the sites you have given me because I believe firmly that for evil to happen, it takes good people to remain silent.
This notion has given me no end of trouble in my life - as it did my father in his time.
Fly!! Thank you so much!!!!! Best wishes for success!! Keep us posted and Good Luck!!! :D
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