The Real Socialism Problem in America: Can We Handle the Truth?

Conservatives can hardly take a break from hammering Bernie or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as the wide-eyed, clueless new posterchild of Socialism, but we overlook the greatest Socialist heist in our own back yards. It is bigger, nearer, more real, and it is every bit our own fault—and we are every bit as clueless as the Bronxite butt of our own jokes.

A fiscal watchdog website relates how “Texas Voters Approve Nearly $8 Billion in Bond Debt.”

This is not outstanding debts, but fresh, new debt voted in mainly by conservatives in local districts in a single election, and just in one state.

The total sum is comprised of millions spread across some 84 bond propositions throughout the state. Out of these, the article states that only about four failed to pass. The other 95% range from a few million to almost a billion in a single school district.

While it will be tempting for conservative readers to think this is all happening predictably in those really blue districts headed by crypto-Communist and Socialist Democrats, much the opposite is the case. Certainly, some blue districts have their snouts in the trough, too, but most of these propositions appeared, and passed, in solid red localities.

Take that single largest sum in the lot: Fort Bend Independent School District (ISD) dug itself a nice $992.6 million hole for “New Schools, Renovations, Safety and Technology.” Hardly a blue stronghold, Fort Bend is rather a Republican oasis in the heavily-Democratic Houston area.

Likewise, Collin County is pretty darn red, with high rent districts in Plano and other places. The county does not have a single elected government official that is not a Republican. This election, it floated a cool $750 million in debt. The local Frisco ISD added another whopping $695 million on top of that.

But don’t get the idea this is a problem isolated in the big-spending, big city locales. Dozens of counties from all over Texas appear in the list. You can see for yourself the hundreds of millions squandered in Republican-led district after Republican-led district.

It’s undeniable: when it comes to State and local bond debt, Republicans are every bit as Socialist as Democrats. To try to justify this problem by saying liberals only want to do it for welfare is to play a semantic game. Sure, we could put degrees or priorities on tax-based funding, but none of that shows that any of it is absolutely necessary, especially for public education.

Public education was the original foot in the door for leftist Socialism in this country, and it is by far the most thoroughly Socialistic institution in the country. Conservatives at one time opposed it, yet now they have not only succumbed, they are making the old leftists’ arguments on behalf of the Socialist institution, and are among the foremost abusers of the system.

Nor can you defend such funding as limited to infrastructure, as if that would make it acceptable. Even if it were, all funds are fungible, and special funding for infrastructure only frees up the normal budget for more of other things. It’s all the same amount of spending: it’s all taxed and all spent and nothing saved.

By the way, did you know Texas public schools have over 7,300 administrators who make over $100,000/year? Several make well over $200,000 and some even into the $400,000s. This is the kind of thing made possible by these special bonds passed only for “infrastructure.”

Not to mention, it’s all Socialism to the core to begin with!

So, perhaps when we get our eyes off the objects of ridicule we make for ourselves, we’ll see that we are really the problem, after all, not so much them. And perhaps red is the fitting color for our “conservative” districts after all—the color of both Communism and of a negative balance sheet.

I have been trying to get Christians and conservatives to acknowledge this deep hypocrisy now for a long time. This message forms the crux of the positive message Restoring America One County at a Time.

Christians and conservatives, however, seem more interested in distracting ourselves from the problem of our own complicity. We justify and exonerate ourselves by comparing ourselves against the craziest spectacles of leftism in current affairs. Don’t we look so good in comparison?

Remember the words of St. Paul: “when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding” (2 Cor. 10:12).

This is a “Pharisee and the publican” scenario, by which we exonerate ourselves by accentuating the sins of the great sinners and ignoring all of our own: “Dear God, we thank you that we are not like Maxine, Hillary, Michelle, Barack, Bernie, or Alexandria” (cue the craziest bug-eyed photo of each that we can find). Meanwhile, we are ourselves Socialists up to our eyeballs at home—and in areas that impact our lives and the lives of our neighbors more directly and thoroughly every day.

Among the lies we often tell ourselves includes this most common retort: we have to take care of the more dangerous enemies before we can fix our own lesser problems. In fact, the truth is the opposite. The greater problems only exist because we refuse to take care of our own issues in a godly way first. Leftism is a symptom of the social failures of Christians and conservatives. The social failures of Christians and conservatives are an outgrowth of personal spiritual failures, beginning with simply owning up to the truth, and simple fear.

The time has come for us to get serious. Maybe it’s OK to have a laugh at the clueless ones’ expense, but don’t for a moment let this make you feel good. Instead, let every scoff at Obama, huff at Hillary, or laugh at AOC make us ask ourselves once again what we intend to do about the more immediate Socialism in our own back yard. Because real changes cannot take place until we get to that point.