A few days ago, the NDP national convention decided to delay the vote on whether the word socialist ought to be dropped from the parties constitution. It’s not the values or ideals that are disputed, but the word.

Because socialist has become such a pejorative term in north America since the cold war, the NDP is considering dropping the word to gain broader appeal to people who are uncomfortable with the term.

I want them to keep it. A socialist is not a bad thing to be, and if they give it up, they abandon a claimed history attached to the word. The NDP is Canada’s socialist party. They ought to use the word proudly, and by their actions show the word’s reputation is undeserved. A victory for the NDP won by concealing their socialism would be hollow. I want the NDP to win as a socialist party. The important thing about the NDP is that they are so different from the Conservatives, and what I want, and I believe many other supporters of the NDP want, is a party that proudly displays how different it is from the standard North American political party. Rather than letting Canadian culture tell them it’s not OK to be socialists, the NDP ought to tell Canadian culture that it is OK to be a socialist.

My last point is that to stop using the term would break a bond across distance and time. Socialism is about being united, and abandoning something that might seem trivial, like a name, would actually be abandoning a link to the socialists of other countries, and to the socialists of the past.

So I ask you, show your support however you can, and let someone know you want to keep the socialism in the NDP.