"From Ration Stamps to DoorDash: How Comfort and ..." Topic

…Socialism Are Disarming America

"…Eighty-four years later, the average American household orders dinner from an app while the thermostat holds steady at 72 degrees. Same-day delivery, climate control, abundant protein, and on-demand entertainment are treated as entitlements. Student debt, healthcare costs, and housing prices dominate conversation, yet the material floor of daily life would have registered as unimaginable luxury to that 1940s family. The contrast is psychological and civic. The generation that defeated the Axis powers did so after a decade of Depression hardship and a willingness to sacrifice that current polling shows has thinned in measurable ways. That thinning, paired with the rising appeal of democratic socialism, is creating a republic uniquely vulnerable to external pressure from a near-peer adversary determined to supplant American power and reshape the international order in its own authoritarian image.

Today's baseline is different in ways that matter for national security. Gallup's June 1–15, 2026 poll found only 33 percent of Americans "extremely proud" to be American—the lowest reading in the survey's 25-year trend—while just 53 percent expressed high pride (extremely or very proud). Stark generational and partisan gaps persist: older Americans and Republicans register far higher attachment than younger cohorts and those on the political left. International polling shows similar erosion in resolve. A Gallup International Association survey released in 2024 found only 41 percent of Americans willing to fight for their country if war came, well below the global average of roughly 50–52 percent. A separate 2025 survey of NATO allies, commissioned by Riga Stradiņš University and the Center for Geopolitical Studies Riga, placed the United States even lower at 37 percent—near the bottom of the alliance. Military recruiting faced significant shortfalls in the early 2020s before partial recovery under a new administration in 2024. These are aggregate signals of a society whose default experience is abundance and convenience rather than shared sacrifice.

Comfort alone does not preclude courage; citizens of modern democracies enjoy similar conveniences yet have proven capable of fierce resistance when their borders are breached. The fatal vulnerability emerges only when unprecedented material comfort is paired with ideological drift and a collapse in national pride. When a society no longer believes its foundational system is worth saving, comfort ceases to be a byproduct of success and becomes the primary excuse for capitulation. Elite polarization that frames fellow citizens as existential threats, two decades of wars with ambiguous outcomes that eroded confidence in leadership, collapsing institutional trust across government, media, and academia, and rapid demographic and cultural change have all frayed national cohesion. When hardship arrives, it typically takes the form of policy frustration or social-media outrage rather than physical privation. Younger Americans and Democrats show markedly higher openness to expansive government roles in housing, healthcare, and income security—attitudes that correlate with lower confidence that the American Dream remains achievable through individual effort…"

link

Armand

Not surprised. Glad I'm old.

(smile)

Armand

Tango most of this I have brought up before on TMP, even the platform of the Democratic Socialist.

Amazing how many of their candidates are first generation "migrants" bringing the failed politics of their homeland here and then telling us ours are wrong, or are heavily indoctrinated American youth, many "Awfuls" affluent white female ultra liberals.

Many from privileged, wealthy backgrounds. Telling the rest how capitalism has failed.

If you spend years being told everything about your country is bad (by schools, politicians and the media), many of the weaker minded will believe it.

Subject: DSA co-chair mocked by critics for proud confirmation of far-left beliefs

link

I understand that's difficult… the far left "socialism" is the new cancer imho … they destroyed whole countries… but nothing is forever… If Argentina could eradicate this plague after 70 years… anything is possible…

Armand

There are only about 100,000 actual members of this political party. Much of the interest in SOME of their policies comes from the growing numbers of independents and middle ground Dems and Repubs who do not like right wing priorities. Medicare for all is one such policy. A huge number of people have lost or cannot afford health insurance due to cuts. They now jam ERs for their health care, straining services and driving up costs for all. Armand, financial autocracy is also a real problem in the US. Both extremes are ideological and lack common sense and pragmatic vision. Some policies on both sides are nontheless popular.

100,000?? There are at least 120,000 "registered", but that is "only registered".

The Hill

1 in 3 Democrats now consider themselves democratic socialists: Survey

BY FINYA SWAI 07/30/26 11:25 AM ET

About a third of Democrats identify as democratic socialists, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, showing the growing influence of the party's progressive wing.

While they make up the minority of the party, the survey found that they are among Democrats' most loyal supporters and are more likely than other Democrats to favor sweeping changes to party leadership and direction.

There will always be those who want something for nothing.
Want other people's money.
Want "bread and circuses"
Want to blame everything and everyone else for their failures, everyone but the person most responsible for their failures, themselves.

"Tax the billionaires!" Sounds good right? But there aren't that many. How much is acceptable? 50%? 60%? 90%?. Who decides? Who gets it and decides how to redistribute it?

Tap the billionaires out. Move to the millionaires?

Then who's next?

To a beggar, someone making 50,000 seems rich.

In other words, there is no end.

But when it is all done, there will always be the percent at the top with…. Billions.

There will always be generations of the weak minded who buy into the promises.

By the way, you don't just get "SOME of their policies".

The Iranians and Venezuelans fell for the promises.

But then some believe promises of virgins in paradise. 😏

Trump has the government buying into various companies. Isn't this socialism? Sure ain't free market capitalism.

Does that money come back to the coffers of the government? As opposed to just handing taxpayers money out freely? Getting some money back, does sound good. I mean, since it is "our money".

President Donald Trump differs from Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden by directly taking equity and stock ownership in private corporations in exchange for federal funds, rather than relying on standard loans, grants, or subsidies.

Government Equity vs. Traditional Subsidies

Trump Administration: The Commerce Department routinely extracts direct, non-controlling equity stakes (owning between 5% and 15% of shares) in private tech and manufacturing firms—such as Intel and various semiconductor and rare-earth companies—as a mandatory condition for awarding federal funds.

Obama Administration: Used Department of Energy loan guarantees to support green energy startups like Solyndra, aiming to foster market competition without the federal government holding direct corporate stock ownership.

Biden Administration: Distributed subsidies and grants through legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act to build domestic manufacturing, which originally prioritized grants over government equity acquisition.

So are we saying we would be happy with the platform of the Democratic Socialist? Remember, it's all of it.

Would we change the U.S. from a capitalist country to a socialist?

Remember! These sections of their platform, would destroy the United States as given to us by our founders.

If you say you agree, I hope to God you are NOT a teacher of our youth!

Structural Government Overhauls
* Abolishing the Senate: Eliminating the upper chamber of Congress to transition to a single-branch (unicameral) legislative system. [1, 2]
*
* Revising Executive and Judicial Power: Replacing the independent presidency and the Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and completely subordinate to Congress, effectively creating a parliamentary-style system. [1, 2, 3]
*
* Drafting a New Constitution: Scrapping the existing constitutional framework to rewrite the structure of American federal governance from the ground up. [1, 2, 3]
*
* Eliminating the Electoral College: Replacing the traditional presidential election process with a direct national popular vote. [1]
*

Electoral and Institutional Changes
*
* Expanding the House: Radically increasing the size of the House of Representatives.
*
* Universal Enfranchisement: Granting full voting rights to all permanent noncitizen residents and individuals with criminal convictions.
*
* Multi-Party Transition: Dismantling the traditional two-party political arrangement in favor of a multi-party proportional representation format. [1, 2]
* 


Economic and Border Proposals
*
* Public Ownership: Shifting major industries, infrastructure, and large private corporations into social or public ownership.
*
* Abolishing Enforcement Agencies: Shutting down Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and altering or ending current national border enforcement practices.
*
* Defunding Defense: Substantially cutting budgets for the military and defense departments.
*

OVI +1

IMO and many others …

*No socialists/communists

*No open borders

*No islamists/terrorists/jihadis

*No Illegal aliens – No exceptions

That is a good start …

Plus -

The US will not become a communist nor islamist nation.