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Victims of Communism Day, November 7, goes into effect in 2022. It comes out of Florida and is part of Governor DeSantis' posturing leading up to the 2024 presidential elections in the United States. The name itself is problematic: "Victims of Communism Day."

There are as many victims of capitalism as communism, arguably more under capitalism, given it has existed for at least one hundred years longer. However, both are ideas for economic governance and how the people in power implement each determines whether they're evil or not. Many leaders are driven by self-enrichment and self-promotion, not by altruism and duty to the people they lead. Therein lies the problem.

Power, for power's sake, leads to poor decisions, and it doesn't matter which economic policy you choose. DeSantis has the right idea in that we need an open discussion on the economic tools available to us as a nation and those used elsewhere. If we're going to criticize one solution within a day, let's look at all and, at the very least, make sure we understand what we're talking about.

CAPITALISM

"Capital," as in money and profit, is the key idea behind capitalism. There is only one goal of capitalism: to make a profit, either through selling more, acquiring more, reducing costs, or buying out the competition.

The general idea behind capitalism is laissez-faire, which states the market dictates cost and the government does not constrain activities. In capitalism, there is a winner and a loser. The most substantial companies in terms of resources and spending survive, though, unlike natural selection, money and size do not guarantee that the best or most innovative organizations continue. Since the objective of capitalism is to make a profit, people and nature are a resource but not the goal. An individual's actual value to capitalism is his/her ability to buy, borrow, and create demand. Yet, despite this system being detrimental to the average person, most will defend the system to death because there is a remote possibility, a fleeting hope that he/she could be that person who beats the odds and becomes wealthy. That hope is why many will vote and act against their interests on taxes, usury, oversight, and other restrictions on profit. Profit and hope are capitalism's seduction.

COMMUNISM

Communism came about as an answer to the excesses of capitalism. "Communal" is the keyword in communism. It is an economic idea that says everyone contributes and benefits equally. In theory, all the money, resources, assets, and benefits go into one pot controlled by the government, which is divided equally amongst all the people. Nobody has more or less. Everyone gets enough to get by, and only the government has the authority to decide.

That theory doesn't work, either. There is no initiative for innovation, risk, or autonomy. All decisions are made by the government, from where and how you live to what career you can pursue. Over time, communism erodes the spark, invigorating people turning them into cogs. You've also got the problem of greed with those running the scheme. Like capitalism, the leaders stop making decisions for the people and instead look for ways to enrich themselves. Even China adopted capitalistic ideas for its industry while maintaining authoritarian rule over its people to survive.

Communism looked fantastic on paper but failed in practice. It promised work, shelter, food, clothing, and equality for life, an enticing idea to the millions thrown into deep poverty during the Industrial Revolution of the late eighteenth and early-to-mid-twentieth centuries. Security and safety are communism's seduction.

SOCIALISM

"Society" is the keyword of socialism. Socialism snuggles between capitalism and communism. Like capitalism, it believes in freedom of choice, commerce, innovation, and markets; it promotes reward for advancement. Like communism, socialism uses money collected through taxes and tariffs to provide goods and services for the population. For example, rather than spending 25% of a federal budget on new bombs, invading countries, or colonization, socialism would take some of that money and improve schools, health care, parks, roads, and other services that benefit the population.

Unlike capitalism, socialism believes organizations require oversight, someone or something to be accountable to prevent abuse, pollution, theft, and skulduggery. It's the old fox policing the chicken coup scenario—not a good idea if you hope to have eggs in the morning. Compassionate caution is socialism's seduction. Even socialism isn't perfect and can be abused, which is why most countries are hybrids. The United States and Europe are predominantly capitalistic and minority socialistic, though Europe leans more toward socialism than the US, particularly in health and elder care. The thing is, capitalism, socialism, and communism are economic ideas, not government structures. You can be a dictator and a capitalist or a communist. You can be a monarch and rule a socialist or capitalist economy and still be tyrannical.

CONCLUSION

Each system has its benefits, appeals, downfalls, and opportunities for abuse. No economic solution is a panacea, and none is a villain. The 50 million who died under Stalin didn't die from communism; they died from tyranny. Thirty-five million were starved to death in 1933-34 because a dictator ordered them to starve as punishment for not bending to his will. People starve to death under capitalism, too, daily. It's called a lack of money to purchase. Lack of supply. Lack of access. Victims of Communism Day misses the point. Like critical race theory (CRT), it's a non-issue formatted into an issue, an electoral dog whistle, banking on fear and a lack of understanding and context. The day is meant to teach bias and close minds rather than stimulate learning, thought, and questions.

Africa

Nov

Abet & Aid Punsters Day: November 8

06:20 AM | -

Do you love puns? Today is your day for a play on words. Abet & Aid Punsters Day focuses on using words to communicate a double meaning. Fail to participate? You may be pun-ished! This event was created by Earl Harris and William Rabe and is currently unsponsored.

Africa

Nov

CMA Country Music Awards, Nashville (US-TN): November 8

06:20 AM | -

CMA Music Awards are the longest-running country music awards on television. The ceremony first aired in 1968 and features top talent in the music genre of American country music. The actual date is not set until late in the year, and this date is an estimate based on the previous year's ticket sales.

Africa

Nov

Cook Something Bold and Pungent Day: November 8

06:20 AM | -

Cook Something Bold and Pungent Day is the perfect time to cook something smelly and pungent before the house is closed up for the winter. This celebration was conceptualized by Thomas and Ruth Roy, the founders of Wellcat.com.

Africa

Nov

Dunce Day (1308): November 8

06:20 AM | -

Dunce Day marks the death anniversary of John Duns Scotus, a philosopher, and theologian, in 1308 AD. Dunce caps were originally associated with learning, and Scotus believed that the cone-shaped caps, when worn, channeled knowledge into the brain of the wearer. The Pope honored him in 2010, calling him the "Blessed John Duns Scotus." Today these caps are associated with stupidity, with teachers deploying Dunce caps to embarrass misbehaving and unprepared students.

Africa

Nov

Intersex Day of Solidarity (1838): November 8

06:20 AM | -

Intersex Day of Solidarity honors the birthday of Herculine Barbin / Abel Barbin (November 8, 1838 - February 1868), a writer who was born with both male and female genitalia. He was raised as a girl until doctors determined he should be a boy. His writings and diaries are considered the earliest on gender identity. A founding voice in the LGBTQ+ community, Barbin's story is told in the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenide.

Barbin died of suicide in 1868 at the age of 29.

Africa

Nov

Shakespeare Authorship Mystery Day (1623): November 8

06:20 AM | -

During the 16th century, writing was considered the common man's purview and inappropriate for a nobleman. Yet, given the above, how could William Shakespeare be the actual writer of the plays and sonnets that appear under his name? That is the purpose of Shakespeare's Authorship Mystery Day, a day to ponder the above. Created in 2017, Authorship Mystery Day occurs on the anniversary of the publication of the First Folio on November 8, 1623. For an engaging version of this question, see the 2011 film "Anonymous," starring Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, and Joely Richardson.

Africa

Nov

Signing Day, Ntl.: November 8*

06:20 AM | -

Today is the day, National Signing Day, (also referred to as National Letter of Intent Day), the day that high school athletes with athletic scholarships (approximately 48,000 each year) declare which college they will attend. There are other signing days, but this is the first and the most anticipated each year. This day encompasses all sports, except American football.

Africa

Nov

Tongue Twister Day, Intl.: November 8

06:20 AM | -

International Tongue Twisted Day is the day when tongue twisters are honored. Perhaps the most famous in the English language is, Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? Choose your favorite and see how fast you can say it without tripping over your tongue!

Africa

Nov

X-ray Day (1895): November 8

06:20 AM | -

November 8, 1895, in Wurzburg, Germany, physicist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen (1845-1923) made the invisible visible by observing the first x-ray image. Like many of history's great inventions, this was an accident. The scientist was working with cathode rays and glass when he realized that a chemically coated screen nearby was glowing.

Later, he discovered that X-rays comprise electromagnetic energy, similar to light but 1,000 times shorter. Rontgen's discovery and later experiments allowed man to see inside human beings and other objects without cutting them open. His discovery was labeled a medical miracle, and it revolutionized modern medicine.

Africa

Nov

Birth of the Bab (1819): November 9

06:20 AM | -

For the practitioners of the Baha’i religion, today is a day to observe one of their prophets. It is the day Bab was born on November 9, 1819, in Shiraz, Persia. Originally named Siyyid Ali Muhammad, Ban is considered the herald of the Baha’i faith. No work is performed on this day by the faithful.

Africa

Nov

Embrace Chaos Day: November 9

06:20 AM | -

Created by best-selling author Bob Miglani, Embrace the Chaos Day seeks to remind people to let go of stress, cease attempting to control everything, and go with the flow. "Embrace the Chaos" is the title of Miglani's second book.

Africa

Nov

Freedom Day, World (1989): November 9

06:20 AM | -

World Freedom Day falls on November 9. Then-President George W. Bush declared this US Federal celebration to remember the demolition of the Berlin Wall that symbolizes the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe. The College Republicans and Young America celebrate this occasion by having activism projects. Some people read about Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, whom many believe were instrumental in the fall of communism in certain parts of Europe.

Africa

Nov

Independence Day, (KH)(1949): November 9

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Independence Day in Cambodia marks the anniversary of November 9, 1949, when the nation achieved independence from France. Independence Day is a national holiday.

Africa

Nov

Kristallnacht (DE)(1938): November 9

06:20 AM | -

Today is the anniversary of Kristallnacht, otherwise known as the Night of the Broken Glass. It was a pivotal moment in the rise of fascism in Germany, as, before this night, acts of anti-Semitism by the state had been legislative and largely non-violent. Beginning the evening of November 9, 1938, German SA Paramilitary, the Hitler Youth, and the German civilians went on a rampage, intent on purging Germany of its Jewish citizens. Their only crime was their faith. The term Kristallnacht came from the sound of the glass shards of Jewish stores, homes, synagogues, and other structures left in the wake of the violent attacks. In total, 30,000 Jewish men were incarcerated in concentration camps that night.

Africa