Editor,

I have to admit, I thought ignorance is a problem, but the total ignorance shown by the Democrats voting for Sen. Bernie Sanders was really disheartening. Over three-fourths of the participants going for a socialist really takes the wind out of my sails.

If you ask most of these folks what socialism is, you usually get a blank stare. If you ask them to show where it worked, it gets even quieter. When you point out Venezuela (most of South and Central America at one time or another), North Korea, several African nations, even Nazi Germany, all  were total failures, apparently run by people not as smart as Bernie.

I’d like you to do a little experiment: Look around you and find something that was invented and perfected by government. You can rule out almost everything in your life; capitalism brought it all to you. Somebody wanted to make things better for themselves and, in the process, made it better for everyone. Bureaucrats only think in terms of limiting, not expanding (except their power).

You can’t take from the producers and give it to the non-producers. The producers will quit producing fairly quickly. This has been proven over and over again, starting in the U.S. with the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, their experiment with socialism almost destroyed the community.

As Winston Churchill said, “Socialism is the equal distribution of misery;” Margaret Thatcher put it, “Socialism works until you run out of other people’s money.”

My political leaning has nothing to do with this. My letter is intended to try to be an eye-opener to mitigate some of the ignorance displayed Saturday, not only here, but in Hawaii and Alaska.

Put down your Bernie signs for a moment and read a short essay “I, Pencil” by Leonard Read, which should be taught in every school. Maybe it will give you pause for thought and make you look at things a little more realistically.

http://fee.org/articles/i-pencil/

RICK KISER

Oak Harbor