Are you going to vote for one of socialist candidates from the Democratic list? Al Gore, John Edwards, Obama, Clinton, Kucinich etc?
Then keep in mind that socialism will bring you either to helplessness, as western European socialist countries are today, or to fascism/communism, as Germany and Russia were.
Socialism in western Europe was sponsored and protected by capitalism. European socialism is alive and relatively well only because capitalist USA did protect it for decades from the USSR. If USA will go socialist, who will protect the USA? France?
Self-sustainable Socialism has to be militaristic by itself. Examples : USSR and Nazi Germany. Yes, Nazi Germany was a socialist country. Those who do not believe that it was, I challenge you to read below the articles from the program of NSDAP – National Socialist German Workers Party (SOCIALIST WORKERS PARTY!!! ) and to tell which one from listed below articles are not suitable for today’s Democratic party platform.
• That all unearned income, and all income that does not arise from work, be abolished.
• The first duty of every citizen must be to work mentally or physically. No individual shall do any work that offends against the interest of the community to the benefit of all.
• Since every war imposes on the people fearful sacrifices in blood and treasure, all personal profit arising from the war must be regarded as treason to the people We therefore demand the total confiscation of all war profits.
• We demand the nationalization of all trusts.
• We demand profit-sharing in large industries
• We demand a generous increase in old-age pensions.
• We demand the creation and maintenance of a sound middle-class, the immediate communalization of large stores which will be rented cheaply to small tradespeople, and the strongest consideration must be given to ensure that small traders shall deliver the supplies needed by the State, the provinces and municipalities.
• The State has the duty to help raise the standard of national health by providing maternity welfare centers, by prohibiting juvenile labor, by increasing physical fitness through the introduction of compulsory games and gymnastics, and by the greatest possible encouragement of associations concerned with the physical education of the young.”
So, if we are going to vote socialist, we either will be helpless and defenseless like Europe today, or militaristic as Germany and Russia were yesterday (and like Russia under Putin still is).