"Help...The Communist Are Coming"

In Jim Clayton's article "Random Thoughts on the State of Our Union and Planet", published in AC's opinion/editorial section, Jim tries to defend the "Right-Wing/Capitalism" ideological argument by tying the growth of the world population to the generosity of the United States and by default, of course, the "Right-Wing/Capitalists" amongst us. His ascertains are totally bogus and the spin he puts on the state of the world is totally mind boggling. In my rebuttal, I intend to de-spin his rhetoric.

First Jim tries to tie the industrial revolution to the explosion of the world population. This opening paragraph does have some validity to it but where he starts to spin his rhetoric is in the second paragraph.

He tries to tie the fact that we have gone through a industrial revolution to the supposition that we feed all the world by virtue of our generous gifts and that if it wasn't for the "Right-Wing/Capitalist" and their charitable contributions throughout the world that 4 billion people would have perished. Hog wash I say. We are not the only country that has gone through a industrial revolution and we are not the only country that has made huge progress in the agricultural revolution. I will concede that we (the socialists, or the hippies, as Jim Would Say, amongst us) do give a lot of aid to some third world countries, but so do a lot of other countries.

He gives no credit to the strides the rest of the underdeveloped countries have made on their own. Some of these third world countries have made great strides of there own in terms of supplying their own agricultural demands and to say that to say we are the only reason the world is surviving takes a lot of conjecture.

I will submit the following as just one little example: A Kenyan environmentalist and human rights campaigner Wangari Maathai won the Nobel Prize for her efforts not only in agriculture but in politics and women's rights (BBC). She and those like her are taking responsibility for their environment and are the reasons that the third world is making huge strides in providing for themselves. It has nothing to do with the imaginary "Right-Wing/Capitalist" generosity as Jim has proclaimed.

Jims argument then jumps to China. He tries to tie our country to China (because they are, in his view, pure Communist and pure evil). In this paragraph he tries to stir up our emotion and patriotism. First of all I would like to make one thing clear, there is no pure Capitalist or "lassies-faire capitalism" left in the world, just as there is no pure Communistic or Socialistic places left. So, the Capitalist and Socialist argument in itself is irrelevant. The truth lies is the "Convergence Theory." The Convergence Theory states that : Capitalism and Socialism are growing similar...this view points to a coming hybrid or mixed economy.(Henslin 2005)

I guess my biggest problem with people who bash others view points with a narrow minded "My Way Or The Highway" mentality is that they "can not see" or "refuse to see" the entire picture. They influence people to take sides based on half truths, lies, supposition, fueled be emotion and jingoism. Most of you that read this may not know what the heck I'm talking about, but Mr. Jim Clayton will. By the way...I still love you Jim even if you are a jingoist. LOL