This is What I Think When I Hear “Socialism”

A boogie-man no more.

I’m an older Millennial with all that entails. I got a lot of flak from older generations for being “spoiled” and “entitled.” I was regularly told to “pull myself up by my bootstraps” and the like.

Well, when I was in high school, 9/11 happened, and after that, America seemed to start going downhill and hasn’t slowed down since. We can argue the reasons for that for days, and as an older Millennial, I know who I’m pointing my finger at, but that’s not what I want to talk about today. No, rather I want to talk about what my generation, and the younger generations like Gen Z, think we should do about it.

Socialism.

I know, I know, it’s that big bad “s” word that Reagan warned you about and modern conservatives and quite a few liberals continue to warn us about. You hear whispers of America becoming like China or, worse, North Korea. Saying you’re a socialist is akin to saying you want to stab Lady Liberty to death with a rusty shiv.

The thing is, we “youngsters” (I’m in my mid-30s, so middle age is rapidly approaching) grew up in the age of the internet. Even someone like me, who played outside until dark and did stupid stuff without having my parents hovering over me all day, is considered a “digital native.”

I did all the stuff that older generations crow about — running amok in the neighborhood on my bike with friends, playing on metal playground equipment, skinning my knees, and banging my head doing dumb stunts. I also had a computer in my home for as long as I have memories and we had dial-up as soon as it was available. I’ve been using a computer my whole life, but I also managed to learn how to operate without it.

So, having grown up using the internet to get my information, I have learned a lot of things. One of those things is that much of the industrialized world has a much better quality of life than we do in America, and that is thanks to that terrible word: socialism. Democratic socialism, to be more precise.

You see, while America was blazing its own way with Freedom and Liberty, most other industrialized countries figured out that having healthy, happy, educated citizens were in their best interest. So, they implemented systems whereby people could get inexpensive healthcare and quality education, made their cities walkable and invested in public transit, and just generally improved life for everyone.

You see, when I hear “socialism,” I think of those Scandinavian countries that are objectively happier, healthier, and wealthier than we are here in the good ol’ US of A. We talk about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but they have it down. They have life (inexpensive nationalized healthcare), liberty (a solid justice system), and the pursuit of happiness (quality and affordable education) more nailed down than we ever have here.

When I log onto the internet, I see and read about people who live in countries that are doing a lot better than we are in terms of their everyday citizens. If I go to the doctor and discover that I have cancer, there is a pretty good chance that I will go bankrupt trying to cure myself. When someone in one of many European countries gets diagnosed with cancer, their country pays for their care because having healthy citizens individually is beneficial to the whole.

And so it goes for just about every metric. Healthcare? Cheaper and more available. Education? Cheaper and better quality. Public transit? Better quality, affordable, and just generally available at all. Rules for employees? Well, they get several weeks of leave guaranteed by the government, including leave for childbirth, while we Americans get nothing guaranteed.

We don’t rank very high when it comes to health, education, or happiness, but we do rank at the top in a couple of interesting categories: incarcerated citizens and military spending. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have functional taxpayer-funded healthcare than a prison industrial complex and a big ol’ pile of nukes.

So, older generations, keep throwing the s-word around like it’s the devil, and I’ll keep laughing at you over it. This ain’t your daddy’s socialism, the red scare that threatened Truth, Justice, and the American Way™. This is the “we care about your well-being and want you to be happy, healthy, and if not wealthy, than at least comfortable” socialism. Most of the industrialized world has made it work pretty well. Why can’t we?

Be well out there.

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If you want to read a long, long piece about this very topic, check this out: