Trump’s scare tactics

In 1935 the Spokane River was disgusting, described by the State Health Board as “grossly polluted” due to the direct discharge of raw sewage. However, when FDR’s Works Progress Administration offered funding for a primary treatment facility, the good folks of Spokane rejected it. Why? They were taking a stand against “creeping socialism.”

What’s my point? In 1935, “socialism’” — the word itself — was a bugbear useful for frightening otherwise intelligent people into making stupid choices.

Trump & Co. think it still is. When they cry “SOCIALISM!” day after day, they expect millions of Americans to be cowed into believing that if they elect Joe Biden the USA will quickly devolve into Stalin’s Russia or Mao’s China or today’s bankrupt and lawless Venezuela. The Republicans are lying, of course, and they know it.

What the more progressive voices in the Democratic Party want is for the United States to be a place like Canada or New Zealand, where no one is bankrupted by doctor and hospital bills. They want a higher education system like Germany’s, where college graduates aren’t saddled with enormous debt. They want a subsidized system like Denmark’s, where even the lowest paid workers can afford quality day care for their children.

These are all things that enhance personal freedom and the quality of life. Trump wants you to think just the opposite. Don’t let his lies scare you.

Michael Schneider

Spokane