Have you ever joined the grand kids in popping bubble wrap?
Yes you are an adult but some things are fun anyway. Popping all the latest fear monger topics is like popping bubble wrap. No matter how many bubbles you pop and chuckle there are always more. At least we are introduced to new absurdities but there are two perennial favorites that never go away.
Amid the horror tales of giant underground organizations that will turn us into zombies of political and social control. To the horror that would rather you become ill or die because you wear a face mask, all the way to confronting the wrongs in our society will mean changes. Of course there will be changes to society. Before some people get comfortable in their hiding place under the bed look around. Change has propelled our society from the days of cavemen to what we have now.
In the last one hundred twenty years we saw child labor prohibited in mines and factories. We saw women recognized as persons and then the world nearly ended when women were allowed to vote. Some watched in horror as society adopted a social safety net to mitigate starvation. The very concept that healthcare was a right must have terrified some for sure.
Yes change and progress have always been with us. Granted sometimes we go through periods of negative change. We have a societal system for that too. It’s called the vote every four years. A vote is not the change it’s the sampling of the mindset for change. It tests the waters to see if people want to go to the next step in the evolution of progress.
There are two groups however, that oppose each other, that are afraid of each other and yet borrow ideas from each other with careless abandoned. It also demonstrates that during the current pandemic we have learned something from recent history. I speak of those who fear what some call socialism and others who rail against capitalism. The problem is neither side could function in our society without the other. Think about it.
The ideas that propel ideas into need in the market, thus creating jobs and economic growth are in the realm of capitalism. The check and balance of regulating the money supply after all is said and done comes from the right side of the political spectrum for the most part. Whether that is good or bad I leave for you to argue. Even the most ardent socialist never turns down a good paying job with benefits. Remember the benefits did not come from a benevolent free enterprise company. The workplace benefits we have today came from the blood sweat and tears of the left in the form of trade unions. The political venue they used were the left wing parties. The truth is socialists are not communists and conservatives are not fascists as some would portray. So fearing one or the other is over the top. We don’t see those on the political right turning down pensions, medicare, and public access to education for their children. Most started out as left wing ideas. Remember there is a difference between retirement savings and a pension. Retirement savings come from personal investments, usually derived from the free market. Then again some trade unions own big blocks of those private sector companies. Pensions for working people on the other hand were won at the bargaining table by the trade union movement. The truth is our entire society is a hybrid of both systems and that became evident during this pandemic.
The Great Depression saw chaos, starvation, civil unrest, and severe division in society. The reason?
The left had little influence in the form of ideas such as employment insurance, pensions, medicare, disability pensions, and social assistance. These programs, though costly provide a more stable economy in the long run. There are those opposed saying we are leaving an enormous debt for future generations. No one argues that point. Then consider the world is not a perfect place and life is not always fair. After WWI and WWII there was a price to pay and it was paid by the ten, future generations. As an example the last war payment was made by Britain on Dec 31 2006.
The point should be instead of fear and distrust societies chief forces of influence should be using their expertise to create a better world instead of painting each other as the boogie man for votes. The truth is we need a strong left and right to bring balance to both our economy and social progress. To cure our current climate we must first shed fear of our own shadow and embrace the future with the positive things we can do as a society.
Fred Steele