Greetings everyone, I pray y’all enjoyed a wonderful and blessed Christmas. As I sit here in my home in Garland, Texas, I realize that these are the final days of this decade. It has been an incredible 10 years for me, coming back from Afghanistan as a civilian/military adviser and becoming a U.S. congressman, only the second Black Republican in the history of the State of Florida.
There have been some low points in this decade, but it is only through adversity that we are made strong, learn to persevere, develop resolve and resiliency…character. I firmly believe, in the end, the challenges we face here in our America will only serve to make this constitutional Republic stronger.
This decade began with us not really having open discussions about competing philosophies of governance — that has changed. As we entered this decade, February 2009, it was Newsweek magazine that asserted, “We are all Socialists Now.” It was a hearty undertaking, and politically risky, back at the beginning of this decade to openly discuss the philosophy of socialism without being utterly denigrated and publicly assailed.
However, we watched in this decade a country that was once one of the most prosperous in our hemisphere be driven into despair due to the governing philosophy of socialism: Venezuela. We witnessed Americans flock to Venezuela to praise socialist dictator Hugo Chavez; for some odd reason those same folks are not flocking there now.
A Venezuelan migrant carries mattresses to rest at a park in Bucaramanga, Colombia, on December 17, 2019. – Venezuelan migrants in Colombia undertake a round trip to their country with the desire to spend Christmas at home. (Photo: JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images)
As well, the coverage of Venezuela by the American leftist media is abysmal. Early in this decade, Chavez banned private gun ownership in Venezuela, to curtail gun violence. Now, only Nicolas Maduro’s armed gangs, the Colectivo, have weapons to terrorize, and execute, the people.As we close out this decade we are hearing more of the rhetoric of socialism in our America, to include the dark specter of gun confiscation and disarmament of law-abiding Americans.
Therefore, I felt it imperative that as we head into a new decade, we remember these four quotes.
“The goal of socialism is communism. The capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them.” – Vladimir Lenin
Socialism is an economic model that transforms a nation into the societal model of communism. Socialism is based upon these simple economic concepts – redistribution of wealth, nationalizing economic production, expansion of a welfare state (dependency), all necessary to create social egalitarianism (social equality).
In a socialist economic model, success and achievement are targeted and punished. If you do not believe me, just examine what happened over this past decade in Venezuela.
Now, of course we have these brilliant American “Democratic Socialists” who claim that their socialism is better than all previous socialist endeavors — not! They all end up the same. In the case of China, they have been brilliant in using free market capitalism to sustain a brutal communist regime, hence why I included the second part of that quote from Lenin.
So, as 2020 begins and we hear the rhetoric of these Democrat (Socialist) presidential candidates, just realize what their end goal is. Recall, Bernie Sanders spent his honeymoon in the Soviet Union.
“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money” – Lady Margaret Thatcher
There probably is a really good reason why Barack Obama did not attend the funeral of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. I tend to believe that this quote of hers was why he sent a delegation to Ferguson Missouri for Michael Brown’s funeral instead.
Thatcher was correct. The socialist economic model always collapses because it makes onerous promises of free stuff — and free does not equal freedom – and then guarantees happiness by targeting the wealth, resources, of others.
As we saw in Venezuela, the producers flee. Just look at Weston, Florida, a large Venezuelan ex-pat community.
We hear these American socialists claim that they want a top tax rate of 70%, or higher. And they always, and wrongly, use countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark as examples. In those countries everyone is taxed equally; it is not a progressive tax system that targets the more productive.
Regardless of your income, you will have a high tax rate. Of course, you get free benefits, but EVERYONE is taxed. As well, those countries do not have a socialist economic model, theirs is a free market, capitalist, economic model. They just afford more government benefits to their population.
However, trying to compare those Scandinavian countries to the United States is pure folly. Heck, the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex has more people than Norway.
“Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” – Sir Winston Churchill
There is perhaps no better description of socialism than these words of Churchill. When you reflect upon the recent Democrat (Socialist) presidential debates, you see angry people. Why would anyone want angry people to lead our Nation? But it is to be expected, since socialism is not about happiness, it is indeed about an equal sharing of misery. Now, who wants that?
Therefore, one must enrage people against another group of individuals, make them an enemy, demonize them, create hatred, jealousy, envy. I go back to what happened to Venezuela over this past decade — who can call that a success? Climate change did not destroy Venezuela, no. The governing philosophy of failure known as socialism destroyed Venezuela, and only the ignorant, or as Lenin termed, the useful idiots, cannot see that.
“How do you tell a communist [socialist]? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist [Socialist]? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.” – Ronald Reagan
Reagan had a way of communicating in a simple, down-to-earth way, and this is a clear example. Why does socialism/communism, seem appealing? Because it is as Churchill said, “the creed of ignorance.” Heck, even Bill Clinton once asserted in a State of the Union address, “the era of big government is over.” Of course, that was after his midterm election debacle.
But Clinton abandoned those pie-in-the-sky leftist policy agendas and worked with Republicans for welfare reform, balancing the federal budget, and creating a budget surplus. This is because certain economic principles work; socialist principles fail.
Barack Obama, even after his midterm debacle, doubled down and debt continued to grow. Also, we have debt and deficit growth under Republicans because some of them embrace a progressive, big government perspective.
This is my final commentary of this year, this decade. As we enter 2020, let us reflect back upon this last decade, and vow not to become the Venezuela of this coming decade.
This column was originally published at CNSNews.
The views expressed in CCNS member articles are not necessarily the views or positions of the entire CCNS. They are the views of the authors, who are members of the CCNS.
