Danger is somehow always lurking

Whenever the structure of society breaks down in the case of natural or man-made disasters — fire, flood, civil unrest, plague, war or famine — people suddenly find all those so-called socialist programs like national health, food safety, security, fire fighters, police and even water availability are at risk — and your little world of security just as suddenly has gone poof, presto, gone. Welcome back to the Stone Age.What you relied on for your very existence was always hanging on with a thread; socialist programs put in place by the will of the people (that’s called government in a democracy). It doesn’t take much to upset the applecart. As the people of Virginia learned, that clean water turned out to be rather special and needed government control to keep it clean and flowing. It doesn’t matter if you calculated that electricity was merely a service you paid for and therefore it was under your control. The day it gets cut off, life becomes harder and sometimes fatal for people on life-support machines. If there was no government service (paid for by the people collectively) to clear debris and re-establish the electricity supply, how long do you think you would last after a winter storm? Welcome to the Stone Age once more.The truth about the world we live in is that we are dependent on the will and support of millions all around us. People who work for the public good, people and systems put in place collectively (socialism) for the public good are there not for your individual good, but for the good of all. When something catastrophic happens, your hope is that there will be enough public programs around to save your rear end. And if you are civic-minded (part socialist yourself) you’ll pitch in and help. After 9/11 the outpouring of private people lending a hand in Manhattan was heartwarming. Were they all weirdo lefties? Not on your life.So, why do people rant and rave about government programs that actually do good, clean the water, test the food? Of course you do not hear anyone denigrating socialist programs like the military or firemen. Nor should they. But are soldiers any more important in saving lives than, say, a biologist isolating a new flu strain at the CDC? Why do people complain about programs like the FDA protecting our food chain, or OSHA making the workplace safer for all (right and left), or the FCC keeping America’s airwaves open to all voices, or the Department of Education striving to find some educational standards for all Americans, or the Surgeon General’s office and CDC looking into health-care issues — all these are constantly rebuked for “meddling” or “creating a nanny state” by people perhaps rightly wanting smaller government but not realizing how much these community programs are a vital part of America’s success and safety.Here’s a thought: War is a catastrophe affecting all levels of government services and protection. When all those systems break down, when people are truly relegated to a Stone Age-like existence, the tide of evils looking to gain a toehold once again is truly overwhelming. After a year and a half of civil war, in a country which had eradicated all cases of polio for over a decade, that country (Syria) is now facing an epidemic among the children — among refugees and babies far away from the battle lines. Polio. You my not know how terrible polio is, but when your child loses the ability to move arms or legs, you would soon know. Iraq is now facing cases as well, for the first time in 14 years.Like famine, fire, flood and tornado, disease is always there, waiting to regain power and destroy. In the same way only the Allies’ armies could defeat the enemies in World War II, so too only public programs — unity in strength — can defeat, avoid or repel unwanted calamity. The world is a dangerous place, biologically, naturally (fire, flood and tornado) and politically (war, strife). The only real way to ensure your safety, the real American way, is to rely on strength as one nation, one people, standing together. If that is socialism, so be it. Individuals can belong as part of the whole without giving up their personal freedom and opinion. But to seek to obliterate the very safeguards of society in the name of anti-government sentiment is to seek to destroy the very foundation of American ethic of “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Justice for all requires a collectiveness. Time for the divisive people to rethink before the next calamity.Peter Riva, a former resident of Amenia Union, now lives in New Mexico.