Your editorial of Friday, February 13, requires a response.  Assuming this was a serious attempt to support socialized medicine, your fuzzy liberal thinking was very evident.  Don’t get me wrong, John; you are my friend, but just like a good friend of mine in Hernando, your outlook on things political is off base.

First of all, while this country is unfortunately lurching toward socialism, it was not founded that way and did not attain greatness because of socialism.  Among other reasons this country came to be the greatest economic power the world has ever seen is that capitalism creates opportunities which allow people to realize their dreams.  Socialism suppresses dreams and creates tyranny.

Your argument that a few countries have longer life expectancies because of socialized medicine is nothing more than a red herring.  They may have longer life expectancies, but there are many more factors than just socialized medicine that must be factored in.  So, that argument simply does not hold water. Like most Americans, I do not want a government bureaucrat dictating what kind of medical treatment I can or cannot receive.  So our reaction to the term socialized medicine should not be contempt but fear.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond.

Bob Wadsworth

Batesville