The second of our two part series deals, once again, with being honest with oneself about what actually benefits you, and how that might work out for society, but from a different perspective.
Socialism has become a dirty word in the US. You can't go five minutes without hearing about how Obama is a socialist (obviously, these people do not know what a socialist is if they think he is one), or how the socialists in government are out to get us. Last I checked, the nearest country that has actual socialists in government is Canada, and they seem to be doing ok. Even so, the fact remains, there are no socialists in our government.
Let's take a look at what countries whose governments have a bit of socialist influence are like. Lets look at Finland, or really any Nordic nation. They all follow a similar style of government. Health care is run by the government. When people get sick, they can go to the hospital and get cared for. If they don't have the money to pay out of pocket for a private hospital or doctor, then they will see whomever they're assigned to at the public hospital, and while it may not be perfect, they'll get the care they need. University tuition is free. There is also a monthly living stipend for all university students so that they won't go crazy trying to support themselves financially while studying, or go into insane amounts of debt for a degree. When people fall on hard times, there are social programs that will help them get back on their feet again. There is not a high percentage of people who just "live on the dole", so to speak, but there are safety nets, and people use them if necessary. There is mandatory paternity leave, and paid maternity leave. There is a living wage. Even the lowest wage earner can support their family and maintain a respectable standard of living. Then, when you get to a certain age (and no, it's not "when you keel over dead from the stress of your lifetime"), you can retire, and you'll receive a pension that will be enough to support you as you live out your years in generally decent health and well being.
Sounds like a great place, huh? You know what else? We have a very similar nation on our own soil, but they don't even know that they are this way. It's the US military. Look at it like this. Any national health system you look at has a lot in common with military healthcare in the US. We always paid a little bit out of pocket to choose our doctors and go to private hospitals, but if we hadn't had the money for that, we could have walked into the military hospital (equivalent of a public hospital), and gotten the care we needed. Lots of people do. No military person or dependent goes without their prescriptions because they can't afford them. They're free. No military person or dependent has to live in fear of their medical bills. The most they'd ever pay is $1000 a year, and that's if they elect for private care, and have something really awful and expensive go wrong (like the girl I know who was successfully treated for stage 4 brain cancer at one of the best hospitals in the nation. Her husband is in the Navy. Her million dollar surgery cost them $1000.) Most people don't pay anywhere near that much in a year.
But, Anna! There is no free tuition for military personnel! Um, yes there is. Haven't you heard of Army Tuition Assistance Program? It's free tuition, plain and simple. That's for when you're Active Duty. Then there's also the GI Bill for after you get out. When I was in, we had to pay $100 a month for the first 12 months of our enlistment for that, but now, soldiers don't even have to pay in to draw benefits. Not only that, but the Post 9/11 GI Bill has taken it one step further, and provided a monthly living stipend in addition to 100% tuition coverage. How very Nordic of them.
Add to that, the military's million safety nets, the fact that even the lowest Private can provide a 2 BR apartment and 3 meals a day for his family on what he's paid (What's that you say? A living wage?), the fact that every soldier who isn't deployed is given paid paternity leave, that female soldiers get fully paid maternity leave (too short, but still, paid), and that when you've served 20 or more years, you can retire and receive for the rest of your life a sizeable pension and all your benefits, and what you have is a pretty decent American flavored replica of any Scandinavian government you want to name.
The reason I've gone through highlighting all these points is to bring to light the totally nonsensical nature of the fact that the vast majority of military personnel and dependents vote Republican, fear socialists like they would alien invaders, and insist that in Amurrika, we don't do things like that. Um, unless you put on a uniform, right? Then you can have all the benefits of being taken care of (and bitching about it nonstop, might I add). Screw everyone else, though. They didn't earn it like you did.
I offer you this suggestion. Get outside the gates of post for a little while. Get to know some locals. See how they're living. Look at the people with the half decent jobs who still live in apartments and only have one car, or the ones working two or three jobs just to make ends meet. Notice how their lifestyles aren't extravagant at all, but they're basically slaves to their jobs because the economy has tanked so far that the cost of living has skyrocketed while there's hardly any such thing as a living wage these days. Look at how being a single income family is essentially taking a vow of poverty. If you get to know some civilians really well, ask them about what it cost the last time they went to the doctor, or had to take their kid to the ER. Ask them what the retirement plans their employer offers are like. Ask them how much time their husband got to stay home after they had their babies, and if they got paid for it. (We were only able to afford for Thak to take two days off when Chai was born. Some people can't afford that much.) You'll be shocked.
I'm not saying I think we should go to a purely socialist society. I actually think it's an unrealistic thing to expect this country to do, and the level of restructuring that it would require, would be just monumental. We can't get on the same page enough to do that. I see how it works on a practical and theoretical level, though, and I see what exists on our own soil. What I am saying, is that before voting, maybe take a real hard look at what's working in your own life, and vote for more of that stuff to happen. Hey, if you think Obamacare is the devil, then give up your Tricare. Vote for an Anarchist (can that even be done?!) who would disband the government and do away with all the safety nets and benefits you have, and would like to deny the rest of the country, because somehow, it's welfare unless it's you on the receiving end. Barring that, maybe you should vote for people who would perpetuate what's been working in your life. It would certainly be more honest.
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