Creeping socialism

 "It's creeping socialism," the speaker said.

The time was 1959. The place was a town meeting in Reading, MA.

Town meetings were legislative groups popular in New England. At one point everyone in town participated but in 1959 after the population grew too big, they elected representatives not unlike Congress.

The issue was about fluoride in water.

The speaker worked for IBM and came from New York. The theory by many was that IBM placed people around the area and part of their responsibilities were to participate in local government to make sure and regulations were IBM friendly. Other people said, the speaker was just a civic-minded nice guy. Conspiracies are nothing new, but in those days they weren't fed by Fox but people in the local coffee shop.

At the time I was a cub-reporter for the Lawrence-Eagle Tribune covering the meeting.

Many people spoke, including a dentist on the benefits of fluoride even if it would reduce his business. The word communism came up often. People were heated, but maintained a degree of decorum. 

It eventually passed.

Fast-forward to 2021. Change the words fluoride to vaccination and masks. Throw in the word mandate.

The words communism and socialism are still being bandied about. The meetings all over the country are more than heated. Officials in some places have asked for FBI protection in response to threats on their lives and the lives of their families.

Socialism has been used as a word to create fear for over half a century in the U.S. Like any system, when abused, there are problems. However, when used as a fear-tactic by politicians the benefits are never mentioned.

Remember the man who said, "Keep your God-damned hands off my Medicare" not knowing it was government run. The understanding of socialism is not realistic in much of the U.S. Those who do suggest people who don't want, stop using U.S. highways, libraries, Social Security. Don't send kids to public schools, and have your own fire department on call in case your house catches on fire.

As a group, citizens can accomplish more. Taxes are dues to fund these accomplishments. 

If fluoride in water was the greater good to reduce cavities, it would have been difficult to opt out unless you had your own well.

Cavities, unlike the Covid crisis, has less dire consequences. What has been shocking is how that people feel no responsibility to others who might die if they transmit the disease. 

I wonder how they would feel if they had to undergo surgery and the surgeon refused to wear a mask because it violated his rights and was a sign of creeping socialism. 

They yell about child cruelty when school children have to wear masks. Maybe they never saw the kids in cages on the border.

There is an element of insanity in the degree of emotion about refusing to take the actions necessary to stop a pandemic that is killing hundreds of thousands all over the world. 

If having vaccines and wearing masks are creeping socialism, I'm all for it.