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Re: Maher and friends on socialism
ER — (archived)

Well put, yourself, McFly.

Still, we should be charitable with our conservative friends. It is not merely a question of differences in how we feel a government or an economy should be administered. And there are valid points on the conservative side, as well as problems with the left's views. Of course I recognize that.

But this conflict goes deeper than that. It is psychological, cultural, social, historical. The problem is that the world is changing, and we are moving, for a variety of reasons, into hard times. Some of these reasons are our own fault, excesses and short-sightedness by government and business, left and right, consumer and worker. And some are nobody's fault, just historical events outside our control.

But for whatever the reason, America may no longer be able to deliver what it has been able to deliver up to now. And I think people are starting to finally realize it. People today are starting to grasp they will not be as well off as their parents, and that their children will be less well off than they. The American Dream is fading, and an important part of the social contract is vanishing.

Americans are scared, and they are angry, they need someone to blame. Listen to the news and talk to your neighbors, it's all about jobs, because jobs are what allowed Americans a way to step up the ladder to affluence. But there are no jobs, not because of the Left or Right, but because the world is changing. We can't all retrain for the hospitality industry. We simply no longer live in a society which can grow indefinitely. And people don't want to hear this. They will do anything, believe anything, follow anyone, who will show them a way out.

The world isn't coming to an end, but for many Americans, it might as well. Yeah, those comments are scary.

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