New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who ran on a socialist platform, said earlier this week – “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.”
I knew who he was, but to hear it in that way struck differently.
I instantly remembered Barack Obama, the out-of-nowhere newbie U.S. Senator whose only substantive experience was community activism in the inner city. Some opine he was a plant by the establishment Democrats to check every box for the next presidential run. Of course, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is waiting in the wings. But everything about that guy makes you feel like you need a shower when you’re done listening to him.
Mamdani is something different. Something more dangerous. Happiness is a warm gun. Don’t mistake disconnect and distance with the illusion of freedom and ease. Your apathy toward your desire for grit will be your death long before you ever close your eyes, if that’s your attitude.
While the conservative right is self-destructing, a dark danger waits in the wings. Seething with its hands intertwined. Salivating and opining on its many opportunities. When we destroy ourselves the enemy cackles. The ultimate win laughs in the face of God.
Free housing, fairness, equity.
A warmth. A collectivism. The death of the individual. Your spirit be damned. They’d have you believe you are nothing more than a number in a barcode. You know that’s where this leads don’t you? American spirit spits in the face of a faceless system.
But you must invite the vampire in, remember? Before she can suck you dry. She is a seductive allure, beautiful and easy – the best kind. Everything in you will tell you that you should want it, except for your soul. Dripping in every enticement and carnal need meant imaginable. But the cost? The death of your soul. The worst part is you would even fully assent to giving it. Instead, you’ll just welcome the gifts of the carnage and the bastard that is the world. A fallen idea.
The hope? The individual. The choice. The freedom. The ability to say yes, or to say no. That is love.
Our rugged individualism is the embodiment of our collective. Where value is derived – our inherent being. This is where compromise comes to die. For shared burdens cannot be, but for the perspective they encompass through carefully curated circumstance by the hand of the Creator. There is no replacement for the Divine.
In fact, there was a wall that came down to keep people from escaping the “warmth of collectivism” – but maybe you don’t recall that from your public school text books.
Of course, after this statement the internet went wild. The photos of Korean airspace showing the darkness of North Korea next to the bright lights of South Korea tell you everything you need to know about the economic reality of socialism versus capitalism.
Bread lines lead to crickets, which leads to starvation. “Equal” leads to their rules, which they change anytime they wish.
Maybe even watch Bill Maher’s rendition of the quick downward spiral of Venezuela’s socialism trajectory since 1990. Low wages. High inflation. Eight million people fleeing a regime lacking fair, democratic measures.
But you cry when Maduro is snatched from his bed? I’m fascinated by the legal principles that underlie the execution of a domestic warrant in international territory. But the patriot in me says we snatched a sleeping socialist from his bed before he could even put his slippers on and shuffle to the safe room.
And that is pretty cool. No one in the world can dispute that our soldiers are second to none. If you don’t feel like you can run through a wall, I question your patriotism and historical awareness in this moment.
The people in the streets of Venezuela celebrating and crying for the idea of freedom should tell you everything you need to know. If we help them restore oil and are reimbursed accordingly, so be it. At least President Donald Trump was honest, unlike the agents of the Iraq debacle, who lied to us for decades and cost thousands of American lives.
I’d encourage you to expand your education to those like Gaby Blanco – who connects Americans to historical failures in Latin American countries that have turned socialist. For some who fled Cuba at a young age, reunited decades later with family left behind, you’ll understand. You’ll have some perspective outside of CNN talking points that want you to believe you should hate Nicki Minaj. Open your mind. Join the dialogue fully.
Realize that history shows us that personal responsibility and individual liberty are the greatest model of citizenry in the world. If we abandon that in favor of a warm gun, we play roulette on how long until the bread lines come.
Cowboy State Daily columnist Cassie Craven is a University of Wyoming College of Law graduate who practices law in Wyoming. She can be reached at: longhornwritingllc@gmail.com
