Many have warned about the dangers of broad generalizations. Nuance and specificity are lost when we generalize, and entire arguments become specious (like forgetting a republic is a type of democracy, and what James Madison argued against in The Federalist Papers was specifically direct democracy, not democracy in general).

We run into the same problem with the current rage over socialism/communism, which is more a misunderstanding/mislabeling of terms. While it would take more than a single column to tackle the differences, I'm willing to at least scratch the surface.

Those of us with more than a high school education (especially if we minored or majored in political science) can see the current scare campaigns surrounding democratic socialism for what they are: McCarthyism for a new century. What most (some are further out there) of those advocating for democratic socialism tout is not the central planning of communism, but something closer to that of several European nations (more accurately known as social democracy), with universal health care, free markets, and better protections for all. Yes, there are high taxes, but those taxes pay for what we in America are going into massive debt for, so it balances out.

There's a reason Scandinavians are happier than we are.

I was in college when the Berlin Wall fell, and was lucky enough to take an honors seminar on........

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