"The problem with socialists" rant
And there, ladies and gentlemen, is our problem. As AC (13.08 14.30) so eloquently demonstrates, whole generations of Septics have been brainwashed with the Catechisms of Power & Profit :
- Socialism, communism or communitarian behaviour is always bad. “The rich man in his castle, the poor man at his gate, God gave each his station and ordered his estate.” It is God's will. Anyone who tampers is a freedom-hating commie, and will be crushed like the Wobblies (or those pesky native americans).
- America's military-industrial complex is always good. Saving the world does require carpet bombing of various brown-skinned foreigners, but they'll feel good knowing they died for freedom. Anyone who questions this is a freedom-hating commie, and will be detained indefinitely in an offshore torture facility.
- Any historical or scientific fact which doesn't suit the prejudices of Joe Six-Pack and Faux News is invalid. History will be rewritten to suit Septic sentiments (Rambo, U-751, Braveheart), and science only counts if we like it (climate change, stem-cells, birth control).
I do agree with that AC that there's no point in being abusive towards Septics who hold these flat-earth views. They sincerely believe it, as we would if we had grown up in their milieu, and at an individual level Septics are as kind and generous as any other people. Unfortunately, as a nation they more closely resemble the dystopic fantasy of Starship Troopers (movie) every day.