The other day, I was entering the hospital in Albert Lea for a routine colonoscopy, a precautionary exam, when I ran into a friend coming out of the hospital just having had knee-replacement surgery. Both procedures were elective by the patient. Would these two procedures have been permitted under socialized medicine? I don’t know the answer, but I do know the government would be making that decision if we had socialized medicine. So, let’s look at how socialism works.

Recently, I had dinner with a couple from Germany. They have lived in the U.S. for eight years but still retain their German citizenship. It was very interesting to talk about the reason why they came to this country. They have three daughters who had just started to go to school. The situation in Germany is that when a child has finished the fourth grade, they are assigned to one of three tracts for further study They either enter the curriculum for college preparation or the tract for technical training or the general labor tract. The parents and students have no choice; it is determined by the government based upon tests and teacher recommendations. I asked the question, “Is this part of your socialistic system?” They said, “Of course. The government makes all the choices for you.” They did not want this happening to their three daughters and that is why they moved to Minnesota.

I began remembering our trip to Norway. Everything seemed quite nice there. We were fortunate to have our own private tour provided by a farmer who was a friend of one of the people in our small group. We stayed at a number of bed-and-breakfasts, one of which was on a farm.

The farmer had about a 40-acre farm and he lived in a very hilly area. He had cleared another 40 acres he owned and wanted to plant more crops on it. He was required to apply to the government to see if they would allow him to increase the size of his farm. They turned him down because it could cause an imbalance of the amount of food produced. We asked if he could sell the land. He could but would need permission from the government and they would determine the price. This was part of the Norwegian socialistic system.

Both these countries have socialized medicine, and it is decided by the government as to what kind of treatment you receive. Elective surgery, such as knee and hip replacement, takes a long time to get approved, if at all, and waiting for bypass surgery can be as long as six months. Quite often, wealthy people will travel to other countries to receive the treatment they need or the surgery necessary to live normal lives.

I am not sure Americans are ready for this type of a society. We believe too much in our freedom and having freedom of choice, to turn our lives over to government. The push by our government for ownership of banks, insurance companies, auto manufacturing companies and of all our hospitals and clinics is a step toward total socialization where government makes all decisions for us. I personally would hate to see the future of my grandchildren determined by a government agency. I would hope they and their parents could make that decision.

Alan B. Arends is the chairman of the Freeborn County Republican Party.