Why are Americans so afraid of socialism?

Most European countries (as well as many others) have socialist governments and/or systems. These provide: 1. Extremely low infant mortality (compared to the USA). 2. Free dental and medical care for all "minors" (i.e. children). 3. Practically free health care for adults (subsidized dental). 4. Free education through university (students even get PAID a "study allowance" to go). 5. Between five and six weeks of vacation annually. 6. A social "safety-net" designed to ensure the basics of life. 7. And, a quality of life far above that in the USA, plus longer longevity. So, what, exactly, is the problem? (Oh, yeah, and multi-party parliamentary systems of government, which are far more democratic than the "binary system" used in the USA.)
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Honestly? I can't wait to see the number of thumbs down I get for this one, it really will entertain me. Fear. The Cold War. Cuba. USSR. North Korea. Zimbabwe. These are the countries and concepts that are thought of when you say the word "socialism". These countries and concepts are actually designed to attempt to be communist, or just totalitarian dictatorships. When you say the word socialism, Americans (mostly the right wing side) don't think of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, England, France, Luxembourg, Finland, Iceland, etc. All of these, hard-working, westernized, advanced countries offer advanced medical and social care for the lower classes and end up with the results listed in question. Yes, the taxes are high, but in a true socialized-medicine society you're also not paying for health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance. Also, if you lose your job you are able to continue your current lifestyle until you can find more work. Here in the states, if you lose your job you automatically lose all of your benefits and insurance. Heaven forbid you fall and break your ankle or come down with swine flu after losing your job (something happening at an astronomically high rate right now), you'd be screwed. Yeah, because having state run colleges where students go for free is a terrible thing. Heaven forbid we allow bright young minds of my generation to attain an advanced degree with out paying $10,000 a year up to almost $50,000 a year. I can't count how many of my peers over the last two years had to drop out of college and lose their dreams because either they couldn't afford to go anymore or couldn't get anymore college loans, so socializing higher education is a terrible thing. We already have several socialized institutions; the postal service for one and no one is complaining about that, how about the police force, and fire departments? How about the primary education system? That's been socialized for centuries. I saw the word "freedom" tossed around about taking away our freedoms. Exactly what freedoms are being taken away? Our right to live long healthy lives? Our right to the persuit of happiness? Our 1st amendment rights? 2nd amendment? 4th amendment? 5th amendment? Nowhere in creating a more socialized society does it have anything to say about Americans losing their freedoms. Socialism is a good thing, it's not communism, it still forces people to work, and rewards those who work hard. There is a very high standard of living to be had if people could just get past the word "socialism".
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