As election time draws closer, let’s look at a word being kicked around a lot these days. That word is “socialism.” Some politicians would have us believe that socialism is the worst thing that can happen to this country. Let’s examine just what socialism has done to you so far.

Consider that $30,000 to $55,000 vehicle you just bought. Without those trillions of miles of streets and highways built by socialism, you’ll just have to leave that vehicle in your driveway.

When your house is on fire and the fire department shows up, just send them away; you’ll have nothing to do with a socialist fire department, not that they could even get to your house without socialist roads.

When you’re being robbed and the police arrive. You want nothing to do with those socialist cops.

As for that nice home you are living in, without socialist roads to carry the material to your building site, you would have to pay hundreds of people to carry materials through the woods to get that home built. Hopefully you’d get it built before winter.

And that trillion-dollars-a-year military that claims to be protecting your freedom: Forget about it.

Even now, there are those who would cut social services, like SNAP (food stamps) and housing subsidies. Imagine millions starving and freezing to death.

So the next time you bad-mouth socialism, just think about all you would not have without socialism being there to serve you.

Peter P. Sirois

Madison