Just Call me Commie

Last night I was called a communist. The reasons? For one, I am reading "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" and my friend took the Islamic symbol of the crescent moon and star in the title as the frequent symbol of communism. The real humdinger? I’m "different", as he put it, "I have never met anyone who thinks like you." Perhaps it didn't help when being branded as a Red I commented, "You know, communism isn't entirely bad all the time; it could work for some people." Which I whole-heartedly believe, but that was not the time to announce such. When I relayed the conversation to my good friend Adam, he reassured me that half of the country thinks like me - that I’m not a commi because I support universal healthcare and environmentalism.
The sad thing is this isn't the first time I've been called a communist; and quite frankly, I'm tired of it. I think of communism to be more of a right-winged form of extremism than left. But during the conversation it donned on me - I was ultimately branded this because my comrade thinks I’m “different”.
You see he's from my hometown, population 6,000, where everyone knows everyone and there is not much room for different ideas. As you can imagine, my political ideals were unique among my neighbors. In fact, I participated in the Miss Christmas on the Coosa Pageant with an essay addressing "What Freedom Means to Me". Yes, I chuckled as well before writing it, knowing mine might cause a ruckus. My essay, which I read aloud to judges and the entire town, described the freedoms we have as Americans such as the right to protest, to disagree with our country's leaders and to practice whatever religion we choose. My parents were embarrassed as the crowd was uneasy, but I won, and was from that day on branded a liberal, hippie, commi, what have you.
Why? Because my views are different? Perhaps they are unique because of the environment I live in, and perhaps other people think like me just not much around here, though I know there are fellow "commis" in these parts. If that makes me a communist, fine. But last time I read up on the Red Scare I found myself far from it.
The most frustrating thing about the conversation - he really is quite clueless about what he believes. Like so many, he has no substantive opinion on the war, healthcare and civil rights. So how can he sum me up in one word?
I bet if my friend researched certain topics and policies he would find we aren't much different, as I have found, I am not much different than my conservative counterparts. And as tempted as I am to call the current Administration some not so peachy names, I'll refrain because I, too, don't like to be called names.
And if being labeled liberal strikes fear in hearts and souls around me, I wonder, what has the world come to? Former President John F. Kennedy put it best when he said, "...if by a liberal they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people - their health, their housing, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties...if that's what they mean by a 'liberal' then I am proud to be a liberal." You call me commi, I say I’m a patriot.