OPINION:
There is a party gaining traction in the U.S.: the Democratic Socialists of America.
Those active in this movement, while running and holding office as members of the Democratic Party, are “affiliated” or “identify” with the Democratic Socialists of America party.
This is both shrewd and calculated so as not to give the appearance of running against Democratic candidates, thereby splitting the left’s vote.
In this thinly veiled socialist movement, there are some fresh new faces: New York City Zohran Mamdani, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Graham Platner, candidate for the Senate seat in Maine. They are young, attractive, articulate, seemingly passionate and claim allegiance to the working class.
Like Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont independent, they pledge a political revolution to throw off the yoke of oligarchs and the evils of capitalism in favor of socialism. This resonates with many as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos near trillionaire status. (Both men are self-made, by the way, products of what only capitalism offers.)
Pitting factions of the public in any country against one another is not new at all. It’s been done many times before: race against race, poor against wealthy, religion against religion. It is a tried-and-true strategy.
Are individual excellence, hard work and ambition coupled with capitalism so outrageous, so villainous, that socialism gets a solid foothold in America?
Perhaps, one might think, socialism isn’t so bad. But it would be naive not to admit that socialism is a short step shy of communism.
CHUCK EARY
Ocean City, Maryland
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