2012-12-11/Explaining Socialism To A Republican

title/short::Explaining Socialism To A Republican I was talking recently with a new friend who I’m just getting to know. She tends to be somewhat conservative, while I lean more toward the progressive side.
 * when: when posted::2012-12-11
 * author: author::Nurse Pam
 * source: site::Addicting Info
 * topics: topic::socialism topic::US Republican Party topic::democratic socialism
 * link: URL::http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/12/11/explaining-socialism-to-a-republican/
 * title: title::Explaining Socialism To A Republican
 * summary: &ldquo;My friend seemed totally shocked when I said “All socialism isn’t bad”. She became very serious and replied “So you want to take money away from the rich and give to the poor?”  I smiled and said “No, not at all.  Why do you think socialism means taking money from the rich and giving to the poor?&rdquo;

When our conversation drifted to politics, somehow the dreaded word "socialism" came up. My friend seemed totally shocked when I said "All socialism isn’t bad". She became very serious and replied "So you want to take money away from the rich and give to the poor?" I smiled and said "No, not at all. Why do you think socialism means taking money from the rich and giving to the poor?"

"Well it is, isn’t it?" was her reply.

I explained to her that I rather liked something called Democratic Socialism, just as Senator Bernie Sanders, talk show host Thom Hartman, and many other people do. Democratic Socialism consists of a democratic form of government with a mix of socialism and capitalism. I proceeded to explain to her the actual meaning terms "democracy" and "socialism".