DEAR EDITOR:

As of this writing, the president-elect is Joe Biden. As we await acknowledgment and acceptance by President Trump, I want to address an unsettling accusation made during the election. You heard it everywhere. “Stop Socialism!” was the cry aligned with Joe Biden and the Democratic Party.

I believe when one hears the word “socialism,” he or she automatically applies the term to communism. It’s similar to when one hears “gun control” and automatically thinks of taking away rights to own a gun.

Both are wrong and misunderstood.

I experienced the communism attachment to a socialistic approach when rectifying a problem. I grew up the son of a very powerful labor leader. As a young child, while in the basement helping my father print flyers and write speeches in his attempt to seek United Steelworkers office, I recall a time when he was speaking with my mother and complaining that he and his followers were labeled communist. My father, a World War II veteran, took that to heart.

He and his fellow soldiers fought against communism, and he was not about to accept that term being applied to him, as I now won’t accept that term being applied to me or the party I am affiliated with.

You see, socialism is both a political and economic theory. A theory is nothing more than a set of principles on which the practice of an activity is based, or to put it another way, the means of achieving a goal. When applied to socialism, this achievement is through the theory, process of a group, an organization that was chosen to represent, administer the process.

When you apply the socialistic theory to government, it then becomes nothing more than a governmental agency given the responsibility to administer a practice, an activity to achieve a set goal.

Simply look at the now-in-place socialistic (theory-based) governmental programs; e.g. CHIP (Children Health Insurance Program), Medicare, Medicaid, Disability Benefits and Social Security. There are many more — too many to list in this format.

For those who don’t want any socialist programs, I suggest you don’t take your Medicare or Social Security when eligible and ignore the many who, when in need, aren’t helped via welfare. Ignore those children who are in need, no fault of their own, of health care.

You see, this is the United States of America; we accept the fact that our government is a democracy, a government “of the people, by the people, for the people.”

To support that ideal there must be programs in place that are run, administered, supported by and under a “socialistic” theory, not a communist-run government. They are totally different when properly understood and applied.

God Bless America.

JOHN LESEGANICH

Canfield