OPINION:
An American friend recently called me a “fascist” because I said something positive about President Trump. That word — loaded, careless and wrong — reflects something deeper about the state of American politics.
I’m not a fascist. I’m a progressive, a populist, a pacifist and a pragmatist. I voted for Bernie Sanders twice. My values haven’t changed. What has changed is my belief that the Democratic Party represents those values.
This is a party that hasn’t raised the federal minimum wage since 2009, when it was set at $7.25 an hour. The tipped minimum wage has been frozen at $2.13 since 1991. That’s more than three decades of political inaction from a party that claims to fight for working people.
Instead of standing with workers, the party has embraced the same foreign policy consensus that fuels endless wars and bloated Pentagon budgets. It has become deeply enmeshed with Big Pharma, Big Ag, Big Tech and Wall Street. Cities run by Democrats for decades now face shrinking tax bases, unaffordable housing, homelessness and failing infrastructure. These are not the marks of a party that governs effectively for ordinary people.
The disillusionment isn’t mine alone. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., heir to the most famous Democratic family in America, walked away from the party. So did Tulsi Gabbard, a veteran, former member of Congress and onetime chair of the Democratic National Party. Their departures reflect a broader erosion of trust from people who once believed the party could stand up to entrenched interests.
Unlike many of my liberal friends who only threaten to leave if things get worse, I actually did. I now live in England — and every day, I see what a functioning social contract looks like. Public transportation is subsidized. Parks and green spaces are safe and cared for. I don’t worry about school shootings. And thanks to the National Health Service, my insulin, pump supplies, test strips and medications are delivered for free, with appointments scheduled well in advance. Health care here isn’t a profit center — it’s a public good.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., the political establishment — including Democrats — continues to defend a system that prioritizes corporate power over public welfare. When progressives point out these failures, they are too often dismissed as naive, radical, or, in my case, “fascists.” But acknowledging failure is not fascism. It’s clarity.
I haven’t abandoned progressive values. I’ve abandoned the illusion that the Democratic Party still embodies them.
RICHARD ROMM
West Sussex, United Kingdom
Correction: A previous version misnamed the National Health Service.
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