“If we examine the history of alleged ‘democratic’ socialism around the globe, it’s not difficult to flesh out the contradictions within its entire framework.

However, for someone who hasn’t studied history or been grounded in the timeless principles of hard work and individual responsibility, socialism might tug at their heartstrings with its utopian claims. They fail to realize that the words ‘democratic’ and ‘socialism’ don’t mix well.

Buzzwords such as affordability, equality, and social justice sound appealing to almost anyone, especially those facing life challenges. However, if you dig deeper, the path toward those ideals involves seizing from those who pull their own weight and handing it over to those who want the easy way out in life. This forced collectivism lies at the root of socialism’s dysfunction, as it generates resentment.

Marxist socialism promises the moon and stars in the form of free this and free that. What the purveyors of this ideology don’t tell the masses is that nothing in life is free and someone has to fork over the money for all the ‘free’ stuff. Folks in the middle- and upper-income strata are coerced into surrendering greater amounts of their hard-won earnings to a centralized government that, in turn, redistributes funds or services to the indigent.

Moreover, socialists demand that everyone practice a minimalist lifestyle while political ideologues enjoy the blessings of a free-market economy. There’s nothing wrong with embracing minimalism if it’s a voluntary decision, but that’s not how socialism operates.

Coercion is the key element in socialism’s playbook, and it tends to hurt the lower-income folks that it claims to fight for in society.

Instead of encouraging poor folks to utilize initiative to succeed, socialists encourage dependency on a bureaucratic state that plays favorites in the battle for resources. This often runs counter to the human drive to freely choose between competing goods, ideas, and services.

Socialism stifles intellectual diversity and is anti-spiritual, since it believes that humans possess all the answers and a divine presence doesn’t play a role in human affairs.

What many young folks fail to realize when they listen to socialist narratives is that socialism is based on emotions and class envy rather than well-reasoned arguments and solutions. The arbitrary nature of socialism can turn any human being into a target of scorn, depending on the mood of those who run the circus. In unfree societies, socialism is kept on life support despite its colossal failures and millions of victims since Russia’s 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

Socialist apologists often repeat the mantra that socialism hasn’t been applied the “correct” way and that is why it continues to fall short. So they triple down on their internal contradictions and hypocrisy, and are doomed to repeat the same dystopian slogans over and over again despite shortages in goods, opportunities, and services.

In a free society, socialists attempt to apply coercion with a gentler demeanor that hides a relentless ambition to dismantle democratic institutions.

In their zeal for permanent revolution, socialists don’t have time to take a breath and actually produce anything of substance. Indeed, they are great at lecturing us and taking from others, but very weak on producing quality products and services that consumers want.

Indeed, socialist leaders exacerbate the cycle of poverty by distorting the free market with price controls and a fixation with victimhood. Socialists ignore the reality that in a free society, victimhood is a choice, as there are countless opportunities to succeed.

Most socialist gatherings and protests involve educated middle- and upper-class folks who have time on their hands to clamor for Marxist ideas they don’t even practice in their daily lives. They benefit from the free market, yet they want the poor to be enslaved to ineffective government programs instead of pursuing the American Dream. Indeed, socialist rabble-rousers aren’t fighting the oligarchy because they are the oligarchy.

Another fatal flaw in the socialist edifice is the opposition to charter schools. Why do they oppose alternatives to so many failing public schools? Charters more often than not outperform their public school counterparts in educational outcomes. This can help students succeed more in higher education and the workforce.

What does socialism deliver to society? It plays the zero-sum game by falsely believing that if one person succeeds, someone else fails. How about the possibility that if one person succeeds, it inspires others to work hard in attaining a worthy goal? The road to success can be uneven for anyone, but the persevering effort is what counts.

The primary objective of socialism is power over others by initiating anarchy and class warfare. It stifles natural competition, inherent liberty, and social relations. Socialist activists are adept at pulling the victim card in order to become victimizers of folks they envy, such as the wealthy who already create countless jobs and pay heavy taxes.

To sum up, socialism is a criminal enterprise that utilizes propaganda to convince us that it cares for the poor. In truth, socialists crave power, while their policies only serve to keep lower-income folks in misery. The antidote is equal human rights, free market exchanges, and limited government.”

Crestone and Beyond

Next is a brief opinion piece on communism. The Editorial Board of The Epoch Times put together a summary of their collected thoughts on communism after President Trump had delivered some of his thoughts about this planetary scourge.

Why Trump Is Right to Warn World About Communism

“The surge of communism poses a greater danger to the United States than what was seen during the two World Wars and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, President Donald Trump cautioned during a recent NATO press conference.

Flanked by top members of his administration, the president was responding to a question from our colleague Iris Tao, White House correspondent for NTD, a sister outlet of The Epoch Times.

Tao asked the president what his message was to not only the people living under communism, but to those living in free societies who may be unaware of communism’s grip on their nation.

‘I want to get the word out, because what’s forming is communism in the country, and communism is easy to sell,’ Trump said. ‘It sounds so nice. It’s not nice. It’s a very dangerous term.’

The results have indeed been the same each time. Whether in Russia, China, or Cuba, communists promised equality, but instead delivered death and poverty. Even the most cautious estimates have placed the total death toll from communism—through its mass killings, manmade famine, forced labor, and more—at a staggering 100 million people.

In Cuba, communist rule continues to create mass food shortages, power outages, and widespread poverty. In China, the regime jails an untold number of prisoners of conscience for their beliefs, even killing them at scale for their organs.

Beyond the brutal mass murder and destruction of property and wealth lies the most evil intent behind the ideology: to capture or destroy man’s soul through the promotion of atheism, materialism, degenerate culture, and a litany of corrupt trends.

Using his voice on the world stage, Trump is shining a spotlight on an ideology that continues to pose the greatest threat to humanity. The president’s forceful condemnation of communism is not only the right thing to do but a moral imperative.

The influence of communist ideology is not held within the borders of nations ruled by socialist and communist regimes. The communist movement has spread throughout the world under many guises, as documented in ‘How the Specter of Communism Is Ruling Our World,’ published by The Epoch Times.

The central argument of the ‘Specter’ series is that communist ideology is the embodiment of evil in our world, seeking to sever people from God.

Communism co-opts social movements that draw on people’s innate goodness, exploiting their drive to help others and turning them into what Vladimir Lenin called ‘useful idiots.’ In the United States, socialist ideas and policies have become commonplace, while socialism’s overt political arm, the Democratic Socialists of America, has experienced explosive growth.

Earlier this month, the group celebrated becoming the biggest socialist organization in U.S. history with a membership reaching 120,000 people. Hundreds of Democratic socialists now hold public office in elected positions at the federal, state, and local levels.

Communist ideology has also become embedded in our textbooks, our media, and the entertainment industry—promoting a culture of entitlement and indulgence.

These developments are a symptom of a grander, civilizational onslaught of communism. Trump has made as much clear in recent remarks.

“These are not mere political disagreements like differences over taxes or regulations. Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty,’ the president said on July 3.

‘One thing that happens when you go communist is you never come back,” Trump said during the NATO conference. “You die in squalor, and it gets very evil and very nasty.”

While the communist movement has never ceased its pursuit of global domination and continues to deceive people, Trump’s campaign against communist proxies in Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, and beyond is a reminder that the future is in the hands of those who take a stand.

But resisting communism is not the responsibility of any one person or any single movement. Communism appeals to the darkest aspects of human nature—jealousy, hatred, laziness, and greed. These are the very weaknesses that the communist specter exploits to gain control over people.

Therefore, resisting communism is the responsibility of every individual. It requires each of us to consciously reject the evil within human nature and to cultivate what is good and noble.”

Crestone and Beyond

This Journal hearkens back to statements made in the very first Journal writing I posted on this website on February 3, 2009. It is a writing welcoming readers to the ideas that I post and share in Crestone and Beyond.

In this opening Journal, entitled Welcome to Crestone and Beyond, I registered a few ambitious and lofty comments about my intentions for the Journal writings.

“I will write about human health, as well as the health of our planet home and all things in its environment. There will be coverage of geophysical, geopolitical, and socioeconomic topics which have a large bearing on our health…For some readers, the information will stretch you, perhaps exasperate you, perhaps intrigue you, perhaps delight you. The overall intent is to invite your curiosity to come forward. As Einstein said, ‘The mind once stretched, never regains its original dimensions.’ All good life growth requires a venture outside of one’s comfort zone parameters.”

There have been a few writings on this website which examine geopolitical concerns. For the most part I have written about human health. The recent series of Journal postings consider geopolitical developments.

As an Independent I am not affiliated with any political parties in this country. There have been 15 Presidential administrations in my lifetime delivered by 14 Presidents. I have a few favorite Presidents: Eisenhower, Kennedy, Reagan, and Trump 47.