God forbid the Democrats make it impossible for America to live up to its greatness.
God forbid the Republicans likewise. 
Posted on 03/20/2006 10:03:23 PM PST by goldstategop
Throughout much of last week, hundreds of thousands of students in France were angrily protesting.
They have been joined by the major French labor unions, which are threatening a general strike.
And what is this all about?
It is all about a new law in France that allows a company to fire a person under the age of 26, without cause, within two years of being hired.
Wow. Imagine that. You might get fired from your first job.
As it happens, the whole point of the law was to encourage companies to hire young people. The unemployment rate among young people in France is 23 percent. And in many suburbs, it is double that. Meanwhile, French companies are understandably loath to hire 22-year-olds when they cannot fire them except "for cause," which under union rules means something like committing mass murder in the workplace.
What these massive demonstrations reveal is the narcissism, laziness and irresponsibility inculcated by socialist societies.
Enough generations of socialist policies have now passed for us to judge their effects. They are bleak. Socialism undermines the character of a nation and of its citizens. In simpler words, socialism makes people worse.
These young people in France really believe that they should be able to be hired at their tender ages and that a company must not be allowed to fire them from their first day at work (except "for cause," which, as we are learning in America, is increasingly difficult to establish). In America, most of us would call the French young people's attitudes "spoiled."
Socialism teaches its citizens to expect everything, even if they contribute nothing.
Socialism teaches its citizens that they have a plethora of rights and few corresponding obligations -- except to be taxed.
And that is why the citizens of less socialist -- and more religious -- America give more charity per capita and per income than do citizens of socialist countries. That is why Americans volunteer time for the needy so much more than citizens of socialist countries do. That is why citizens of conservative states in America give more charity than citizens of liberal states do. The more Left one identifies oneself on the political spectrum, the more that person is likely to believe that the state, not fellow citizens, should take care of the poor and the needy.
Under socialism, one is not only liberated from having to take care of oneself; one is also liberated from having to take care of others. The state will take care of me and of everybody else.
The same holds true for foreign affairs. Why did the conservative government of Spain support the American war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq and send troops there, while the Spanish socialists withdrew Spanish troops as soon as they were voted into office? Because the idea of risking one's life to bring freedom to others -- or to risk one's life for another nation for just about any reason -- is alien to the socialist mindset.
Similarly, in the great litmus test of moral acuity -- the Middle East -- socialist countries and parties virtually all line up behind the Palestinians. They do so either out of moral confusion or out of cowardice -- it takes a lot more courage to support Israel than to support the Palestinians and the whole Muslim world.
The socialist idea sounded altruistic to those who began it, and it sounds altruistic to the naive who believe in it today. In practice, however, it creates self-centered individuals and a narcissistic society. So while it may have begun as a way to help others, it has come to mean a way of evading responsibility for oneself and for others.
That is why France is so frightened of the utterly rational idea that a young person should have a two-year trial period at work before being granted a lifetime job. Such an innovation in France would mean that young people would have to work hard and earn the right to lifetime employment. But if socialism means anything, it means that one shouldn't have to earn anything. One merely has to breathe.
As much as America has been adversely affected by socialist thought, it is still inconceivable that in America hundreds of thousands of students would shut down their schools in order to gain the right not to be fired by the first company that hires them. But every time America's socialists, the Democrats, prevail in an election, we move in that direction. No matter how pure their motives, the Left makes America and its citizens less noble people, just like the spoiled French students.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
I agree. Socialism is a fungus on the global landscape. Look what it did for the former Soviet Union.
Prager bump!
The Pope's German? Hillary's a corrupt Marxist? 1+1 = 10 (there are 10 types of people, those who understand binary, and the rest)?
Actually, your accidental typo ('socialosm') offers an idea. I would suggest 'socialasm', to describe the crowd who 'get off' on socialism -- well, at least until that doctrine is formally applied to their own lives.
Wonderful article and one I will remember in conversation with my flaming liberal friends.
BTW... France isn't the only country with the socialist problem over here... trust me. They're just getting it "in their face" at the moment.
Did socialism make the French what they are, or were they drawn to it because it matched their predisposition?
They have been socialists for so long that the tailspin appears to be irreversible.
Good to know that Prager can still get certain types riled up over what the French do in the privacy of the zoo they call their country.
Guess you guys are tired of hearing about stuff like the Global War On Terrorism? Huh? Or the Iran Threat of Nuclear Extinction of Israel? Or the Slaughter of School Children in Chechnya?
God forbid the Democrats make it impossible for America to live up to its greatness.
God forbid the Republicans likewise.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Like Prager says, Americans might sound off against the French and their socialistic ideas but this country is tilting more and more toward a socialistic society. Diane Alden, in her column, stated that the majority of job gains was due to employment in government. Does that sound like a stable democratic society? I don't think so.
Oh Billy! You can't add and you can' keep from blaming Republicans from everything from your fallen arches and your low IQ.
Billy Dog. You know they are almost as bad as the dirty Democrats.
Taxes: Diane Alden is a big kidder.
That "government jobs" thingy is her attempt at humor.
The jobs and almost 100% of the spending resides in our economy. She knows that and is she upset.
Actually it really does sound like an ideal "democratic republic" Taxes-doggie...because that's afterall what it is.
No more "commercials" for Democrats OK? All they do is hate poorly and have literally no agenda whatsoever.
Thanks for catching the typo. 1950 should be 1850. It's interesting that you didn't know who Bastait was and when he wrote. Try subtracting 156 from 2006. Use paper and pencil.
This wasn't a commercial for demorats. Believe me I wouldn't do that. However, it was a statement, not commercial, on the direction this country is headed. All one needs to do is see the direction that taxes are going. If that isn't a good indication I don't know what is.
In regards to Diane Alden, I do not believe that she was being humorous. I don't believe she writes humor. Maybe she hits the nail on the head too many times for your liking and therefore you consider it humor.
The latest gang of GOPers is much worse than a lot of the 'rats.
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