Why is there polarized politics in our Republic?

Editor’s note: This is the second of a three-part response Norbert Chowaniec has written to a column by David Shribman, executive editor of the Post-Gazette, titled “The culprits behind today’s polarizing politics.” The article was posted sometime ago to Frontiersman.com and may be read online at bit.ly/1jA2ykR.

In today’s political culture, its commonplace for some to say the Democratic Party is about socialism in reference to the old USSR. I never really knew what it meant to say “socialist” or “socialism,” so I’m taking an unconventional approach and promoting a more basic interpretation of what it means to be a socialist or one who advocates socialism.

First, why make the comparison that Democratic Party powerbrokers adhere to this latent socialism? Case in point: the internal layout of the Democratic Party is similar to the former USSR Communist party (a one-party system) of identically like-minded people (no political diversity). And here’s the real connection: both groups openly display a visceral hatred of anything rich. It makes sense in a basic kind of way.

To call an individual or group a socialist really means they have a visceral hatred of the rich. The aristocrats of 1917 were the rich and effectively destroyed by Russian socialists (Marxists). Now, the “demon rich” as defined by the Democratic Party powerbrokers are the captains of industry (capitalism). Some striking similarities that does justify calling the Democratic Party powerbrokers socialists – it fits.

The Democratic Party powerbrokers started this fight with the captains of industry by taxing these rich mercilessly, billions upon billions of dollars, using the rich as the Democratic Party piggy bank. This predatory action sets the political stage for two-sided polarized politics in the capital and across the country.

The Democratic Party has been hijacked away from true liberal representation (a political concept of tolerance). In contrast to the origins of our republic, the founders did laid out our governance to be a collaborative effort between the many groups of different like-minded persons within the country.

Imagine that, the founders recognized the importance that this republic’s representation process must allow for all the many groups of different like-minded people to have a say in public matters and then collaborate an agreeable outcome. And yet, the Democratic Party powerbrokers have successfully undone that political concept of our republic — all because of hatred.

I’ve always been amazed when someone advocates the superiority of socialism. The great experiment of USSR-type socialism (world domination and anti-capitalism) has come and went with complete failure of this socialist concept. Karl Marx was flat-out wrong.

Socialism does work, but only at the community level of society where there’s an absence of infrastructure. It is task-oriented to creating new infrastructure, so when the task has been completed, the socialist activity goes away. In principal, community-based socialism has worked many times in many places throughout history. So, why are Marx and his followers so wrong? Answer: what works on a small scale absolutely does not work on a large scale — it simply cannot work at the level of centralized governments.

The empirical evidence provided by the old USSR after roughly 74-plus years (1917 to 1991) of trying, large-scale socialism collapsed under its own flawed concepts and practices. During their reign, know this: these socialists killed millions of their own to force the functionality of socialism (these socialists hate political opposition and sharing political power). This is a very dark side to socialism that its radical supporters continue to hold a blind eye to when advocating it.

The Democratic Party is pushing our republic to the same end as the old USSR — pushing a failed political ideology. If socialism gets an unchallengeable hold on political power in this country, these socialists will hunt down and kill those who oppose their socialist like-minded ideals. You cannot deny the empirical evidence trended by history. These identically like-minded persons are only motivated by their visceral hatred of the rich and always remember — they hate political opposition and sharing power — it gets in the way of their entitlement to political power and pushing their ideologue agendas (of the few) onto the many (us, the majority).

Now look at this Democratic Party theft of billions upon billions of dollars from the captains of industry’s (the rich) perspective. It does nothing more than feed the Democratic Party political machine to take more. This theft cuts into the captains of industry ability to generate profits to refresh their businesses and provide dividends back to their investors (not just the rich, but pensions and 401K retirement plans).

Something had to be done about finding their (captains of industry) own political representation to protect their interests. It’s the Democratic Party powerbrokers’ own greed and avarice that invited this involvement of big business into government affairs — the law of unintended consequence.

So, the net result was that the captains of industry hijacked the Republican Party, a party that once represented mainly conservative people, but no more. Now, the Republican Party is infected by this same political eugenics, a new party of identically like-minded persons — controlled by the captains of industry. The political stage is now set for two-sided polarization of politics in Washington, D.C. The net effect, these captains of industry went about “stealing” back those billions on billions of dollars.

Who’s the loser? Citizens across this country who no longer have any political representation and are now accountable to pay back trillions on trillions of dollars in debt as these two minority factions (visceral hatred versus capitalism) battle it out in the halls of government.

Here’s a chilling thought, we know socialism collapsed economically, right? Is our Republic heading that same direction? As it stands now, if the federal government shut down today at current taxation rates, it would take well over 10 years to pay back the $17 trillion federal debt created by the Democratic and Republican parties.

Sadly, a lot of convert liberals have bought into this visceral hatred spread by the Democratic Party powerbrokers. And equally sad, a lot of convert conservatives have bought into being anti-Democratic Party; they reject anything Democratic which is its own brand of hatred. This poison of hatred has spread from the Democratic Party into the Republican Party and is getting worse. That describes two-sided polarized politics.

It is not in the true nature of liberals and conservatives to be hateful people. I cannot say the same for socialists; it is hatred that drives them. Being politically reasonable and having visceral hatred cannot coexist.

Socialism cannot peacefully co-exist with our Republic.

Norbert Chowaniec lives in Palmer.