link to original reddit post by /u/whatafoolishsquid
Keep in mind this is purely anecdotal, but I had a realization regarding the extent to which communism actively influences the United States.
When I was like 16-21, I was full-blown Marxist. I was a card-carrying member of the CPUSA and the IWW. And I constantly got paid to do things in the name of socialism. The CPUSA paid for me to fly out to a conference of theirs. They paid for me to go lobby in Washington with a group from various unions for pro-labor bills. I was put on a labor board for my city. And I was just some dumb 19-yo college kid with no experience or skills.
Now I'm 30, have my degree, and am a published journalist. Yet as an avid libertarian/liberal/whatever, I can't find these opportunities when I go look for them, much less do they fall into my lap.
The general narrative is that the US is this neo-liberal stronghold and socialism is just some fringe movement, but I don't buy it. "Liberals" frequently try to tell me communism is relegated to a few crazies on the internet and not paid any attention by the establishment. Meanwhile, they'll try to tell me fascism is the biggest threat to America even though I've never met a fascist in my life despite being from the rural south.
Well I'm not fooled. On the one hand, red scares definitely can get exaggerated and become moral panics, it's true. But on the other hand, communism is a lot more mainstream and influential in the US government than many on the moderate left would like to believe.