As a lifelong member of the Democratic party, I believe that our "job" is to stand for our principles: compassion, justice, the opportunity to live in a free society which values equality, mutual respect, and security. Our "job" is to persuade our fellow citizens that our country benefits from equal opportunity, workers' rights, fair living wages and liberating policies.
The Democratic party has functioned very well in managing capitalism to benefit the great majority of Americans over the past century. Unions and a myriad of social programs, supported and implemented by Democratic leaders and our party, have been immensely successful and helpful to our people.
It's up to socialists to convince us that we need to abandon our principles, and participate in a rather vague economic revolution.
For instance, let's just consider healthcare. It would be helpful to hear precisely what will happen to the hundreds of thousands of of people who currently work in the health insurance industry. What plans exist to retrain and employ them? What will happen to doctors, nurses and auxiliary healthcare staff who are unwilling or unable to take massive cuts in pay because of their current investments in their medical practices, homes, and so forth -- and what will happen to rural hospitals which cannot afford to function at the pay scale provided by Medicare? I will not prolong this, but similar questions exist in regard to "free" college education for all, and the many other programs being promoted by the "social democrats."
I don't consider it my responsibility to pretend that the current iteration of socialism which is being promoted will lead us to utopia. We can work together to reduce corporate inequities without abandoning our current structures. But we do not have to embrace (let alone defend) socialism -- however it is now being defined -- without having serious, well-reasoned answers to some really pertinent questions, which affect the lives and income of many of our fellow Americans.
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