Social Conservative Meets Liberal Socialist

I abhor talking about politics with my family, since I am in a political minority therein, and never allowed to make a point without it being rudely and roundly discounted. But in a recent phone conversation with my brother, his comment "The socialists won the election" started one of the most heinously agitating discussions of my life.

He said that the only way we could have fixed the current economic collapse was-- in almost these exact words-- stricter federal guidelines for big business, which he called "communism."

Whoa!

As Americans, we can no longer afford to allow greedy corporate execs to act with blatant disregard for any code of legal or moral values. Twenty years ago, when Ronald Reagan raged through Washington stirred by the panic of the Cold War and the nuclear arms race, we should have tightened federal restrictions on corporate America. If that means all-out Communism, then by all means, I am a Red!

First of all, it is a government's responsibility, and a primary one at that, to ensure that all citizens obey the law. So explain to me how big business owners are allowed to do whatever they want however they want to whoever they want! If you can tell me how the disconnect connects, then go a step farther and tell me how it is morally defencible.

Capitalism is a good system, and a great system for us with the distribution of our government. But all good things in moderation, folks! Unfettered capitalism is what ruined us. Placing federal restrictions to ensure that businesses act in a legally upright manner is not communism-- it's not even socialism. It's just good governing. If you have any questions, a good resource to answer those questions is the 1981 Warren Beatty movie "Reds." It is a docudrama that interweaves performances by the stars of the day with interviews from eyewitnesses to the Russian Revolution, and in both arenas, it clearly demonstrates the difference between our present situation's only cure (past or present) and rampant socialism.

Or, people could always-- and I know this is a radical suggestion-- think before they speak!