“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name ‘liberalism’, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without knowing it happened.” (Norman M. Thomas, U.S. Socialist Party Leader in a 1948 campaign speech)
My name is Rodrigo and I’m a well known economist and writer in Brazil, with more than one hundred thousand followers in Facebook. I used to write in the largest magazine in my country, I’m a bestselling author about the “liberal limousine” and also write in the largest newspaper in Rio de Janeiro, my hometown.
I mention it just for you to know my background, because it’s important for my message to be taken seriously. It’s not somebody’s guess or paranoia, but a warning of someone who studies the subject and fight against socialists in Brazil for a long time. We’re now in a terrible shape and lots of people were taken by surprised, but I saw it coming since at least 2010, when “The Economist” magazine put Brazil in the cover as a huge success case.
I live in Florida since May 2015. Why? For the same reason I decided to write this small piece: United States of America is a great country. You Americans should never be ashamed of it. Meanwhile, Brazil is not that good. It’s too dangerous, too violent and with many, many poor people. I’m talking about very poor people, not like what we call poor in America, which is above our middle class there.
Brazil has also a rotten and corrupt State, which feeds the monstrous crony capitalism and keeps the country from being a rich and free place. Individual freedom is not something we value that much, as you can tell by the Economic Freedom Index of Heritage Foundation (we are at 122 in the ranking). That’s why we see a lot of Brazilians trying to come here to work and live in the United States, and not many Americans doing the opposite.
So why do I write this to you? Simple: in these months I’m here, and also with lots of reading, I’ve come to realize USA is more and more like Latin America. Ok, there is still a long way to go, but it’s the trend that worries me. The left here has become too radical, and even what the mainstream media calls “moderate” is way beyond reasonable. President Obama is not that different from our populist leaders back in Latin America. To tell the truth, I used to say that he was just like Lula. What about Hillary Clinton, or even worse, Bernie Sanders? Hell, he is socialist, and his dream is to live in a place where profit is not welcome anymore, where everything comes from the State.
Let me tell you something: I used to live exactly in that place, and it sucks! In Brazil, entrepreneurs are not seen as heroes who create wealth, but as thieves who steal poor people through capitalism. The State, otherwise, is like God. Everyone looks at it as a way to get something in return for nothing. They want a free ride, and they believe that money grows in trees or falls from the sky. We don’t even say: “how much money do you make”; but “how much money do you earn”, as if it’s a gift, not something we have to work hard to get.
Well, America’s welfare state is growing fast, and now there are millions of people receiving “food stamps” and lots of “entitlements” as if no one had to work so that the State can finance it all through heavy taxation. “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need”: that’s a Marxist slogan. We, Latin Americans, collectivists to the soul, accept and try to live by it. Guess what? It doesn’t work. Far from it! Everyone needs more and more, and no one is able anymore. The one who cries louder gets the largest piece of the cake. And people just forget about cooking the cake, as if it were there, always available, endless. But each bite leaves one less to the last.
America’s government has now more than a $15 trillion debt. Do you realize how much that is? It also has Obamacare, which not only destroys many jobs, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises (which are responsible for two thirds of all job creation), but also represents an authoritarian and unconstitutional policy. It’s something the Founding Fathers would never approve. But it’s definitely something that Brazilians’ socialists would cheer and applaud. Individual liberty and federal government constrains are not worshiped here any longer, and that’s just sad. And it’s dangerous, very dangerous. Obama, by the way, doesn’t respect the rule of law and the Constitution, because he believes in “social justice” imposed by the “anointed”. And he is one of them, of course.
His external policies are also terrible, and America is now seen as weak. Let me tell you a truth here: when America is weak, freedom’s enemies get bold. Which countries does America have a better relationship now? Israel? United Kingdom? No. It’s Cuba and Iran. And Obama rather says “thank you” to Islam and “sorry” for the United States than the opposite. Is that how he wants to support the Western values?
If you Americans want to avoid our fate, you have to take action. Don’t let America be destroyed by the barbarians inside the gate. Don’t let she be ruined by those who think it should be changed “fundamentally”, that the United States is to blame for poverty and terrorism around the globe. Don’t listen to people like Sean Penn, Michael Moore or Noam Chomsky. Just ignore Sanders and beware of Hillary Clinton as well. She’s a liar and her intellectual master was Saul Alinsky, a revolutionary communist.
Don’t be fooled by the socialist crap. It may sound nice in theory, and it may speak to your heart, especially when you are young. But it’s only a disguise. As German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer knew, those who think the Devil will carry his ugly horn will always be his prey.
That message, by the way, fits one of the “conservative” candidates as well. He’s populist, talks about “making America great again”, but doesn’t have the consistence that Marco Rubio, for example, has. He is no new Reagan, not even close. He’s not a joke; he is dangerous. We don’t want a con artist in the White House; we need someone who takes Reagan’s legacy seriously and could stop America from becoming like Latin America.
That’s why I think senator Marco Rubio is the best name to lead this great country back to its lost glory. He’s not only a true conservative, but his parents came from Cuba, the worst kind of socialism we’re talking about here. He understands the importance of freedom and capitalism, of limited and constitutional government, of family and traditional values, and knows how crucial it is to have a strong America again. Not only in rhetoric but also in actions. If I could vote here, my vote would go to Marco Rubio. That’s for sure!
Rodrigo Constantino
