Patriotism vs. Socialism

What's the difference between a patriot and a socialist?

A patriot volunteers to make any and all sacrifices necessary to preserve our republic.  A socialist must be forced to make those sacrifices.

A patriot is vested in the well-being of his country.  He recognizes that the success of our country is not only the responsibility of everyone in it, but it's to everyone's benefit as well.  A patriot cares about his country, and his countrymen. 

A socialist is not vested in the well-being of his country.  A socialist sees that his quality of life will not change, no matter how well his country does.  The success of the country is not the responsibility of the socialist, it is his forced obligation.  A socialist does not care about his country, only what it can provide him.

A patriot will gladly give his life to defend his country, because his country has provided him with opportunities and a life worth dying for.  A patriot need not be asked to take up arms in the defense of his country, a patriot is always prepared, always willing to defend.

A socialist must be ordered to fight, because a socialist has no loyalty to his country.  A socialist is given an income, given a standard of living.  Opportunity is an entirely different concept in a socialist society.  A socialist does only what he is told.


In the office, a patriot is the guy who works tirelessly, ahead of schedule and under budget, because he knows he'll be up for a raise or a promotion or a bonus in his paycheck if he meets or exceeds certain benchmarks.  The "patriotic" worker goes above and beyond, working from home, putting in extra hours without being asked, doing more than is expected of him because, as his business does better, so does he.

The "socialist" in the office is the guy who does just enough to keep from getting called into the bosses office and yelled at.  Just enough to keep his job.  He shows up at 8am and leaves at 5pm.  If asked to work overtime, he complains.  If asked to work on weekends, he makes excuses.  He takes sick days just because he doesn't feel like coming in to work.  He tries to spend as little of his day doing actual work and as much of his day just trying to look busy.


A patriot, when he sees our country struggling, says "What can I do to help?"

A socialist, when he sees our country struggling, says "Hey, don't ask me to help, I already do enough!"


Look at our political discourse in Washington right now.  Listen to the rhetoric from both sides.  Listen to who is saying "everyone needs to share the sacrifice to get our country back on track!" and listen to who's saying "Hey, don't ask us to help out more, we already do enough as it is!"  Look who is willing to make sacrifices, who is willing to compromise, who is willing to meet in the middle and work out a deal that is in the best interest of the entire country, and look at who is unwilling to compromise at all.  Look at who is unwilling to budge an inch.  Look at who expects only the working class to bear the burden of our country's hardship and says "We already do enough, don't force us to do more!"


Think about what I've said, about how a patriot gladly volunteers to make whatever sacrifice is necessary to preserve our country.  About how a socialist must be forced to make sacrifices and complains the whole time.

Who are the ones volunteering to make sacrifices in Washington right now?  Who is the party that has compromised and re-compromised and made new deal after new deal to try and resolve the debt ceiling issue AND the budget issue?  It's been the Democrats the whole way.  Now, who is the party that stubbornly refused to budge an inch?  Who is the party that says "We will not agree to anything that forces the rich in this country to share the sacrifice in order to help America get back on track!"  That's the rallying cry of the Republican party.  "We will not budge, we will not compromise, we will not sacrifice a thing for this country."

Who are the ones who must be forced to sacrifice for their country?  The socialists.

Who are the ones saying "We will not volunteer to make any sacrifices, you're going to have to pry them from our cold, dead hands?"  The Republicans.

Do you see a similarity there?

It's ironic, to me, that the Republicans are so quick to throw around terms like "socialism" and "Marxism" when they want to demonize and marginalize the Democrats over any and every policy viewpoint they hold.  Yet, when the chips are down and our country is in trouble, they are the last ones volunteering to step up and make the tough sacrifices to get us back on track.

When the British landed on our shores at the start of the American Revolution, patriots grabbed their muskets and ran to meet them at the shores.  They fought to defend not just their farms and shops and towns, but those of their neighbors and countrymen as well.  They didn't hesitate to lay down their lives to preserve what they knew was the greatest nation on Earth.

If the "British" landed on our shores today, the Republicans would accuse the Democrats of socialism for asking them to help fight them off.  They would pass special legislation saying they would only take up arms if they could get a tax deduction for every bullet fired and a tax credit for every redcoat killed by their hands.  They would threaten to block passage of a bill to raise the debt ceiling to pay for that war unless the Democrats agreed to include massive cuts to the cost of care for all the people wounded in combat and more tax cuts for the rich people who spent the whole fight hiding out in their massive, gated communities, while their gardeners, maids and cooks fought on their behalf.  All the while, they would wave the biggest American flag they could find and accuse the Democrats of being turncoats by even asking them to look out for anyone but themselves.

So, what's the difference between a patriot and a socialist?

What's the difference between a party that wants to save our country from financial collapse and one who is willing to send it right over the cliff just to make a point?

What's the difference between a party that says "We're willing to share the sacrifice" and a party that says "We're not willing to budge one inch on this." ?

A patriot gladly accepts his responsibility to his country, no matter how big it is.  A socialist will only care as much as he is forced to.

Which side are you on?