Stemming the Red Tide Alexander J. Massa There was once a time in the world when not every manufactured product was emblazoned with "Made in China" or "Hecho en Mexico" on its underside. There was a time, not too long ago, when America, not China, India, or Indonesia, was the world's foremost industrial power. However, over the last few decades, America's raw industrial power has been waning, and we are now entering a new age; an age of American mediocrity, in marked contrast to the 20th century, known to the world as an age of American exceptionalism and global hegemony. A leading cause of the stunning collapse of American industrial power is socialism. Socialism, you ask? Yes, socialism. America is not a pure capitalist state. Rather, our economic system is a blend of capitalism, socialism, and corporatism, a melting pot of various economic ideologies and social doctrines. Over the years, so-called "progressives" and others in the vast spectrum of left-wing ideology have pushed for more and more regulation on industry, and they have crippled our manufacturing base as a result. And yet, all the while, whenever a recession or depression grips America, socialists and the men of the left bemoan capitalism and corporate greed as the underlying causes of economic hardship. Even as they diligently chip away at our capitalist system, turning America more and more Red by the day, capitalism is always the stated cause of hardship, be it economic, foreign, or domestic. There will be a day in America, I fear, where the Stars and Stripes have been replaced by the Hammer and Sickle and our commissars stand atop their soapboxes and preach to the masses that the greed of the fat cats is the cause of all the troubles we seek to alleviate. Perhaps we should turn our attention away from Capitalism, which ultimately is our only salvation, and turn our eyes towards Socialism, which is the root cause of the economic instability and social decay we are witnessing today. The reason behind America's industrial collapse is creeping Socialism at home, infecting our economic policies, as well as our social and foreign policies. Regulations on corporations and industry become more and more draconian each year, until they almost force our companies to export jobs overseas, where they can find cheaper labor and escape the Stalinist regulatory agencies that call America home. And yet, we call companies who outsource manufacturing jobs "traitorous" and "greedy". It is neither traitorous nor greedy to try to make a profit. The sad truth is that if companies were forced to stay in America, most of them would go out of business. We are punishing business and bemoaning profit, and yet we complain and moan when our economy buckles under the sheer stress of the inhuman regulatory practices we have put upon it. Through regulation, America is committing national suicide. We are committing hari-kari on the altar of Social Justice, and while our sacrifice may be pleasing to the Gods of the Left, it is dealing the Heartland a death blow. The smug labor bosses of the AFL-CIO and the UAW may be flush with pride and confidence over their perceived victories against business, but the unholy alliance between government and big labor has cost America more jobs and economic growth than anything else. Big business is not our enemy; indeed, it is our savior. Big labor is the enemy, as well as its powerful cousin, big government. Please tell me, how labor unions help the so-called "little guy" when they demand such a high minimum wage that jobs simply disappear. Yes, you may have won a higher wage on paper, but that doesn't put food on the table. You may have forced business men to pay almost 10 dollars an hour to minimum wage workers, but you have yet to force them to stay in business. Now John Q. Public is without a job and without a home, all thanks to his union, who he thought was his friend, until they plunged a knife deep into his heart, that is. We as Americans must wake up to the fact that Socialism, not Capitalism, is the root of all the problems we face today. As long as the American people believe the lies of the Socialist demagogues among us and place the blame on Capitalism, which has long been dormant in America, we will continue to see greater and greater recessions and economic panics. Only when Capitalism is restored to its rightful place in society and Socialism is violently expunged from our collective system can our beleaguered economy begin to recover. What we have in America today is Socialism masquerading as Capitalism, or as President George W. Bush put it, "compassionate conservatism". Compassionate conservatism is simply a euphemism for Socialism when it is pushed by so-called "right-wingers" like President Bush, despite the fact that he was more of a fiscal socialist than a fiscal conservative. Until the American people can see through the thin facade of our socialist politicians, we will never overcome the obstacles that we will inevitably face in the future. Until the American people, in righteous indignation, rip off the figurative mask, and see what is really behind it, we will continue to wander as a nation like a blind man in the wilderness. Until we stem the Red tide in Washington, and restore Capitalism to its rightful place, America will continue to stumble. Capitalism is quickly becoming an alien philosophy in the country that was made great by it. We must reverse this trend at all costs, for our very lives are at stake. We must push forward mercilessly against the enemies of Liberty while we keep the battle cry of the Republic near to our hearts: Better dead than Red!