"Now, years later, I hear the word “socialist” being tossed around by the likes of Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and others. President Obama, they warn, is a socialist. The critics cry, “Obamacare is socialism!” They falsely equate Western European-style socialism, and its government provision of social insurance and health care, with Marxist-Leninist totalitarianism. It offends me, and cheapens the experience of millions who lived, and continue to live, under brutal forms of socialism"
An excellent rebuttal to the rhetoric used by Obama's detractors. Their tactics are cheap, and merely serves to reinforce the weakness of their own arguments; this is unfortunate, mostly because there are good arguments to use against Obama, but by using this rhetoric they diminish their own chances of success.
Forman goes further to say:
"What we need is not to strive for a perfect social justice — which never
existed and never will — but for social harmony. Harmony in music is,
by its nature, exhilarating and soothing. In an orchestra, the different
players and instruments perform together, in support of an overall
melody.
Today, our democracy, a miraculous gathering of diverse players,
desperately needs such unity. If all participants play fair and strive
for the common good, we can achieve a harmony that eluded the
doctrinaire socialist projects. But if just one section, or even one
player, is out of tune, the music will disintegrate into cacophony."
Well said.
This opinion piece was written by Milos Forman,and published in the New York Times.
This opinion piece was written by Milos Forman,and published in the New York Times.
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