Lawrence O'Donnell is speaking about a comment he made on Morning Yawn this past Friday in which he told Glenn Greenwald that he was "Not a Liberal, not a Progressive, but a Socialist".
He said he did not hide behind the word "progressive" - which I think is a little disingenuous on his part for saying that - but that he was Socialist.
On "The Last Word" right now, he just unleashed a torrent of truth that Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Rand Paul, or any other Teapublican bastard could not handle, nor would know what to do with it if it came up and bit them in their Wall Street-funded asses.
We are all Socialists, and we should not hide from that.
The US is not a purely Capitalistic society, and I remember learning that way back in like 8th grade.
Most "normal", that is, First World countries, have "Mixed" economies. They have a little Capitalism here, a little Socialism there, and everyone gets along fine.
The United States is one of those countries, and we should be damn happy it is.
Socialism that helps protect the elderly of the country via Medicare and Social Security.
Socialism that helps our men and women in the armed forces with the Veteran's Administration running hospitals for them.
Socialism that maintains things like the federal Interstate Highway system which allows us to travel through each state in the Union in whatever fashion we want.
Socialism that runs the United States Post Office which ensures that you get your mail on a daily basis, in a timely fashion, including your Social Security or other disability checks. Ahem.
Socialism in which public defenders and protectors of life and property are paid for with public dollars because everyone benefits from their services.
Socialism in which the government sets regulations across the board to protect us from disease, fraud, and other ills that would never - ever - be squelched strictly under a "free market" society in which money talks and power only understands the language of the dollar.
O'Donnell points out that there is good Socialism, and bad Socialism. While what we have may not be perfect, and while ideals of Communist Socialism don't really work in practice...there is a lot that is done by the government for the people that everyone enjoys on a daily basis.
Socialism does not mean that nobody gets to get rich if their talents, skills, lucky, or family ties allow it. Socialism does not mean the government takes your money and gives it away willy-nilly to people who did nothing to earn it.
Socialism allows for government to provide services that are necessary and vital to modern life in society, and what Teapublicans fail to understand is that if any and all forms of "Socialism" went away in this country, a lot of the creature comforts that they enjoy on a daily basis would start evaporating really, really quickly.
Once it goes away, I imagine a lot of people would be clamoring for its return.
I am a Socialist. I stand for providing people with the best possible services and safety measures via the government as well as other entities through my tax dollars and the tax dollars of everyone else.
Because in a dog-eat-dog world that would be pure Capitalism, you're either a dog, or you're an eaten dog. I'd rather be a citizen where my government does things to make my life better.
Be proud. Be Socialist. For the good of the people.