Persuasive Essay

Lord Christian Mitchell

To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men Abraham Lincoln

Communism. Evil word, right? From an uneducated perspective, absolutely so. But, why is this? Communism, and its idealistic relative, socialism, eliminate the 1% that so many people in recent times are railing against. Anarchists, religious figures, and capitalists would all have people believe that these two beliefs are bad, which begs the question, Why? A simple explanation is that they are afraid of the unknown. However, to plead ignorance at as late of a date as 2012 is to reveal that they are either forcefully blinding themselves from the obvious benefits of communism and socialism, or hiding something from the general population. Socialism helps pave the way for a peaceful transition to communism, and communism is the government of the future, and, if used correctly, could eliminate world hunger, poverty, and so much more. Consider China, arguably the strongest economic power in the entire world. Their governmental policy is communism. True, this is only one example, but another, much more popular example springs to most everybodys mind at the mention of the word. Russia, which is now, according to the CIA World Factbook, a federation (CIA World Factbook. Accessed May 28 2012, www.cia.gov), used to be considered communist. People point out that their government collapsed under this regime, starting with Stalin, and they have a valid point. However, what many people fail to realize is that Russia was doing just fine under communist rule, before they were literally forced to elect an official who, according imdb.coms biography, suffered from extreme anxiety, paranoia, insomnia, and other psychological disorders. (imdb.com, accessed May 28, 2012).

On the subject of Russia, one online blogger writes, In the 1950s, the Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev threatened that, even without a Russian military attack, socialism gradually would be implemented in the United States, ultimately leading to communism. In fact, socialism has been attempting to undermine core American values for at least 100 years. From a Catholic perspective, all men and women should live by essential principles, including a commitment to family and community. Socialism rejects these principles and seeks to eliminate personal liberty, while pretending to advocate for social justice; for this reason, Christians must remain vigilant (Durkee, Jackie. "Socialism Is Evil." faithfulinprayer.wordpress.com 17 May 2010. Rpt. in Is Socialism Harmful? Ed. Ronald D. Lankford, Jr. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. At Issue. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 28 May 2012.) Ms. Durkee is right in saying that the Catholic perspective is based on family and community. However, she also says that Socialism rejects these principles which is basely wrong. Firstly, socialism is defined by Dictionary.com as, A political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole. Her statements and the facts contradict, so theres little more to be gained by further refuting this passage. However, the same article that used this quote said, I don't know that it is Russia destroying us, but it is at least socialism that is destroying the United States. Socialism is an evil in this world. It seeks to deprive us of our God-given rights and it has been infiltrating our society little by little for over 100 years. I believe many Americans have finally woken up, but there are still too many who are still sleeping or walking around with blinders on. One of the ways it tries to accomplish its infiltration is through social justice and this has confused many Catholics because social justice is one of the things taught in the church.

However the social justice taught by Socialism is not the same thing as the social justice taught in the Catholic Church. (Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 28 May 2012.) Assuming that by, our God-given rights, the author of this article is referring to the rights given to us by the United States Constitution (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, property, etc.), its difficult to see where the idea of Socialism and these rights conflict. Life, meaning a persons right to live, isnt compromised. Liberty is still safe. Pursuit of happiness can actually be more easily achieved if the public is freed from having to work as hard as they can just to survive. Property is the one that many would point to as being compromised. However, it isnt compromised for the simple reason that communism doesnt remove peoples rights to call a place their home; it simply makes more public access and public maintenance everyone to enjoy and look after. These ideas arent radical; theyre not new in any way; these ideas have been around since the dawn of civilization, when mankind had to trust one another for survival. Combining todays technology and understanding of the world with the relatively simple concepts of a system of government that has shown its worth throughout the ages isnt crazy; its natural. Its genius lies in its simplicity. In simple terms, its the future of mankind.