Even if a communist can colloquially describe themselves as being on the left, there’s a distinction between communism and “the left.” This is implied right in the title of Lenin’s Left-Wing Communism: an Infantile Disorder. Whereas the left, a big tent term for a myriad of incompatible ideologies, aims merely to act as an opposition towards the present order for the sake of it, communists have a coherent vision for how to defeat the system: by advancing history’s development to the next stage. The left, because of its lack of commitment to that central Marxist goal, naturally takes on an opportunistic role. Because when you want only to build a movement as an end in itself, rather than use this movement as a means for defeating the system, you become nothing more than an actor who benefits from discontent without helping solve the problems behind that discontent.
I think we are hampered by the fact that it is literally illegal to even talk about what needs to be done to overthrow the US empire
Yes I agree. I believe there will come a time when radicalization becomes so developed that prols will overcome this. In poor urban areas, prols and lumpen develop methods of communicating which break social norms but effectively function. This is what will likely become more widespread to overcome this obstacle imo.