Socialist : an insult ?

I have never regarded the term "socialists" or "communists" as an insult. If I ever refer to them as that, then that's what they are. To me there is no difference between the two. What it does is encourages people to be lazier. It gets people in the type of mindset thinking, "I'm not going to get anymore if I produce more, so what's the point of working harder?" That's not saying that American's are harder working than the French or the British, because we have a system here called "welfare" that people abuse.

While I know there are people in France who don't totally agree with the system of government, there are those who disagree with it. The ones who allow their government to get out of control end up paying the price. Our nation has elected a leader that believes it is okay to kill innocent newborn babies, he believes in giving things to people that they don't deserve & stealing from the pockets who have earned what they worked for, & he believes that the government can make better decisions for people than the individual can. We are currently paying the price for that decision.

People need to be free from government dependence. The fewer people that mooch off the government, the government will spend fewer tax payer dollars, & which means everyone will have to pay fewer taxes. I'm not a wealthy person by any means. I believe in keeping what I work so hard to get. I don't believe that anyone or the government has the right to dip their hands into my pockets & steal what is rightfully mine. I hope the people in France feel the same way about that. If the government is saying that they have to raise taxes so everyone will benefit, I can garauntee you that everyone is not benefitting equally. That means that some people are being taxed more than others, or that some people aren't entitled to some of the benefits that is being promoted by the government.

By the way, I try not to over use the term, "un-American", because I believe that everyone craves or yearns freedom. I'm sure that there are people in Europe who don't want to lose their freedom(s) that they have. I prefer to use the term "Patriotic". A patriot is not always American. A patriot is one who loves their country. I'm sure you love your nation as much as I love mine (at least I hope you would). That makes you a patriot to your country. At some point if you decide you want to seek out a better way of life & move to the United States, by all means feel free to do so. Just do it legally; Don't do it the way most people from Mexico do it.

 

You know none of this surprises me. The Bible is just a book of words,Hell is not real and preaching on it is terrorism, pastors are lazy and should not talk, and Jesus used a flawed analogy. Of course their only defense is to make up ad hominems. Certainly shows the weakness of their position.

 

The following is from a column by Holmes Alexander written many years ago.

Conservatism has a lot to do with free enterprise, little to do with Big Business. Conservatism is a discipline, and thus the enemy of permissiveness It is law-and-order, but not repression. It is good manners and social responsibility, but it has few rules — stops short of maudlin pity for the poor and the minorities. It regards Communism as an unmitigated evil, calls Fascism its “illegitimate” brother, and treats Socialism as an obnoxious poor relation of both.

 

That tendency started with Franklin D. Roosevelt with the introduction of Social Security during the Great Roosevelt Depression. It took a giant step forward during the Great Society of L.B. Johnson and Medicare. Now under avowed Marxist Obama and the leftists in Congress we are in the midst of the final push to Socialism.

 

Mr. Snow,
I agree with you. I have known a few pastors who were lazy. I know some who get to the office at 10 and leave at 2. They steal their sermons from another pastor and pass them off as their own.

I have no clue how many there are. But you seem to hang out with all the wrong kinds of pastors so I am sure you've come into contact with them.

But for every lazy preacher I have met I have seen 10 of them at the hospitals at 6 am to pray with the family member of a patient. I've seen many more answering their phone in the middle of the night to help a parent whose baby lies dead in the bassinet. Is that heavy lifting? No. Am I sitting? Yes.

And, by the way, no I didn't volunteer for this job. I was called to it. It was a matter of obedience to God. I get to stand in front of people and preach God's Word. I would not do anything other than this. Even if it's done in front of a few people like you.

 

Spear -
"un-American" is used to denote something that goes against American principles and philosophical traditions, within the U.S. It is not intended to portray America as "superior, listen to us, we're always right."

It would be the same as something that goes against French traditions in France {traditions français}.

 

Well, I've been fussed at a lot and have thought about my posting today. I am at work and thought I would use my lunch break to set the record straight.

First, I agree with Mitch, I don't know what he does on a daily basis. I should not have directed my post at you, Rev, and I was wrong. I apologize. As you, and other here have noted, I do have a problem with pastors. It is a sore spot with me. Let me explain why. First I found out from my daughter that she was molested by the pastor's son many years ago when she was about eight years old. She was ashamed to tell me until just a couple of years ago and I was furious. We had long since left that church and I had no idea. I did not do what I wanted to because I did not want to go to jail. She had asked me not to do anything about it because she was ashamed and did not want to deal with it.

Then, personally, I have had one or two pastors I respected do me or someone I know wrong. One pastor I have set under has gone to jail for child molestation and another abandoned his family; my son was extremely close to this pastor and as a result my son has no interest in the church to this day.

I know this is not the norm, as I have had some wonderful pastors whom I respect greatly, but these problems have haunted me for years. They have made it where I find it difficult to give a pastor the benefit of the doubt.

These problems should not be reflected on the way I treat members here who I do not know, but I sometimes am unable to deal with it myself without striking out.

Again, I apologize to Revmitchell specifically and to any other pastors who are offended by my comments.

 

I am sorry to hear about this tragedy in your family. May God be the source of your peace (Philippians 4:5-8). I believe you mean every word of this post and your apology is accepted. And by the way I am at my desk no latter than 4:30 am. BY 8:30 I have half a days work done. The purpose in this is to leave room for meeting new people during business hours.

 

Thank you for your kind words.

 

I agree with Spear - Obama is a long, long way from Marxism. I'm not sure whether anyone here has actually lived in or visited a genuinely Marxist country for more than a week or two. I have: my first wife was from the Soviet Union and we used to go and stay with her parents in Yaroslavl (north-east of Moscow). Trust me: the USA is not remotely near becoming a Marxist country and Obama's no Nye Bevan, not by a long chalk...

I'm fast coming to the conclusion from this thread that, in answer to the OP, 'socialist' and 'communist', whilst they may not necessarily be insults, are simply interchangeable terms for "anyone who is to the left of me".

 

Actually he is not and his mentors were all marxists eg Frank Marshall Davis ,Bill ayers and Rev. Wright

This is a poor argument, it fails to determine if Obama is marxist. Just because he has not exposed his full ideology at this time via promoting it in government policies is not evidence that he is not.

Again this has nothing to do with whether or not Obama is marxist. There is however an incremental attempt to move us toward that agenda. And Russia has been working to do that for years.

This was most likely your agenda long before this thread. But in making your case you failed to look to his past statements in his life, his political record, his mentors, and his current policies as a whole. You have done little more than simply dismiss the facts without any consideration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt7zWQMHLFY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUsNMsrGycY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VewHzRHZv2U&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0Kd-YJCdp0&feature=related

 

Agenda? What agenda? I have no more an agenda than the next poster...

 

IN this thread you do which is evidenced by the proclamation you made about Obama with little to no evidence.

 

There's no agenda, just observation and in particular the observation that terms such as 'socialist' and 'communist' are bandied about here in such a way as to render them almost devoid of meaning other than that to which I alluded in my last post and with little or no attempt to understand the difference between positions such as 'social democrat', 'liberal', 'socialist' and 'communist'.

 

Again a conclusion with no evidence. These conversations have been going on far longer than you have participated in them. We know and understand far mroe that you see in these meager posts. Obama is a marxist and that is fact.

 

And you have yet to say if you have ever read Marx. Show us your knowledge of socialism by giving a reply that actually says something. You throw words around and dodge questions. I do not believe you have a clear idea what Socialism is or what Communism is ... they are not the same thing.

Show us your evidence that Obama is a Marxist. Back up your words.

 

That's precisely my suspicion, too, and one which is borne out by the dismissive attitude towards the posts of those who disagree with him. I read The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital when I was a teenager as part of my history course at school; I've also lived under Labour governments of varying socialist, social democrat and liberal hues and, trust me, I know the difference between all of them...

 

Talk about dismissive. Nothing you may have lived under provides any evidence that Obama is not socialist/marxist. But his mentors, associations, revealed ideology and political agenda are all evidence he is. There just is no doubt