The letters to the editor last Sunday was a treasure trove of anti-Obama psycho-babble. The News and Sentinel would never allow me enough print space to reply to all those letters, but they allow me enough space to touch on a couple of items.
First. There were several accusations of socialism. I wonder how many of Obama's accusers can actually define socialism? Let me help them. Socialism is "government ownership and control of all means of production and distribution including control over the exchange of all goods and services." So says Funk & Wagnall. Now, what part of our national production and distribution system does the U.S. government own and control today that it didn't own and control 10 or 20 or 40 years ago?
And the answer is? Nothing of substance. Despite, frantic, right-wing claims to the contrary, socialism is not imminent in America. It's not even close. And people who can't reference a dictionary should not write letters to the editor using big words they don't understand. Like socialism.
And then someone tossed the big "C" word into the game. Someone accused Obama of being a communist. Well, La-Dee-Da! Communism is socialism on steroids. Communism usually comes with optional equipment like dictators and secret police, but it's still socialism.
So. By definition, there is no evidence that socialism is advancing in America. And ditto for communism.
In today's political circus, accusations of socialism and communism are just meaningless noise. Back in the day, when hate mongers like Joe McCarthy and the John Birch Society were riding high, those names scared people. You could destroy an innocent life by calling someone a "commie." Joe McCarthy did it numerous times.
But today that type of name-calling is a joke. Probably because the wingnuts on the right have used them far too often in the wrong place at the wrong time for all the wrong reasons. Using them to describe Obama is a typical example.
But some of those drum-beating, tea party members don't understand that. They think calling someone a socialist or a commie has great political impact. Dream on Alice. Wonderland is just around the corner.
Ralph Chambers
Parkersburg
