SOCIALISM: So you think it's bad?

For those of you who don’t know, socialism is more than a derogatory word. After a little researching online, I can say most Americans have socialists to thank for their very existence.

Pilgrims and other pre-colonial settlers were religiously socialists in nature. Thomas Paine, the pen mightier than the British sword, spent the French Revolution writing about socialist principles.

The people who saved our capitalistic butts from a destiny of British rule gave birth to the modern political movements across the world.

It’s history in the U.S. closely mirrors that of the USSR, China and Europe. It’s always the working class experiencing upper class capitalistic upheaval through political, ethical or religious influences.

Tread lightly, naysayers. Your ignorance regarding economic theories might be your undoing.

STEVEN REYNALDS

Coeur d’Alene