To the editor:

Since I do not and never will have a Facebook account I cannot respond to any of the online commenters except by writing this letter.

Merriam-Webster defines socialism as “any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy. The stage in Marxist-Leninist theory intermediate between capitalism and communism, in which the means of production are collectively owned but a completely classless society has not yet been achieved” (and, in my opinion, never will be).

Countries where socialism has been an abysmal failure include Venezuela, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Russia and China. Socialism offers a dystopian future where people have little or no personal liberties, cannot enjoy the fruits of their own labor and are always at risk of being physically and mentally abused by a tyrannical government. North Korea is an example of a nearly classless society: There are a small number of people in the ruling class, and everyone else is equally impoverished and miserable.

The concentration of power in a federal government always leads to an administrative state populated by unaccountable and nameless bureaucrats who wield enormous power at the expense of civil liberties — and that’s a fact. Most if not all existing entitlement programs will require massive tax increases to maintain current benefits. So my wealth, and the wealth of others, is and will be forcibly taken from me and given to strangers; this is called stealing. As far as Social Security is concerned, I expect to take back what I was forced to contribute into its “trust fund” (yeah, right) — no more, no less.

Regarding the comment about having been accused of making terroristic threats, the definition of exactly what constitutes such a threat has become more broad and more vague over time in order to deliberately ensnare more people. Yes, I made a couple of nasty phone calls — a dumb move. I was arrested and charged with making two terroristic threats — each one a felony. Fortunately I was able to obtain a plea bargain to a lesser and single misdemeanor (no jail, no fine, probation) — not an ideal outcome but one I could live with. Were my free speech rights infringed? I believe so. Is this another example of government bullying and the repression of free speech rights which would only increase under a socialist government? In my opinion, yes.

I have written a number of letters to another newspaper where I’ve gone a lot further than what I said in those past two phone calls. The fact that I’ve not had another visit from the government bullies (a SWAT team — really?!) just further proves what I stated in the previous paragraph.

The fact that the commenters could counter with nothing more than polemic is just further proof that my last letter about socialism was correct.

Charles F. Heimerdinger

Edinburg