In her opinion piece published Nov. 30, titled “Republican view of the 2016 president election,” Michelle Loftus stated, “Bernie Sanders ignited interest in socialism which a large portion of Democrats embraced”. And further on she stated “… socialism is a pathway to private sector economic weakness, then anarchy and eventually overbearing government control over all aspects of our lives.”

Bernie Sanders won 73 percent of Democratic primary caucus votes in Washington State and 78 percent in San Juan County. Ms. Loftus, do you really believe this many Democrats were embracing socialism? I think socialism, or any other kind of “ism,” was the furthest issue from our minds. Let me remind that Bernie ran as a Democrat. There is no party registration in Vermont, though he has campaigned in the past as an Independent and allied with many Democrats.

The reason he ignited such enormous support among Democrats was due to the abysmal failure of the modern Democratic Party to fight for its traditional base and values. Bernie is now committed to inspire and support a long-overdue reformation of that floundering party.

Socialism is a label with a greatly misunderstood meaning. It is tainted by history and now used as a fear-mongering smear. Democratic Socialism or Social Democracy are totally different concepts and represent many of the same community-oriented values Americans once learned in school. This includes what a true democracy once was before corporations were granted personhood and neoliberal globalization corrupted it — one human, one vote, a level playing field, a fair deal.

Restoring these values will not weaken the economic sector, lead to anarchy or overbearing government control of our lives. Please consider this; we are now experiencing overbearing corporate control over all aspects of our lives.

Tom White

Friday Harbor