1970 versus 2007: AMERICA - THEN AND NOW; the Left then and now

It is interesting to draw a comparison to the famous Heiress of the Vietnam-Era - Patty Hearst - and the famous Heiress of the Post 9/11 Era - Paris Hilton. Those of you who are interested in astrology might notice they are born on the 17th and the 20th of February. And of course they both had very wealthy great-grandfathers. But the contrasts between these "princesses" are far more interesting.

Paris Hilton is the epitome of self-promotion in the Age of Branding. Paris Hilton represents the ideal apolitical object of voyeurism and consumption-by-proxy - who serves and thrives in the marketplace. She represents a postmodern era that does not lack political ideals - but which is most comfortable avoiding the real political issues.

In the highly politicized Vietnam-Era, Patty Hearst was the target of a small group of extremists who used, and and later co-opted, the famous young "princess" to further their political goals. The ideology and rhetoric of the Symbionese Liberation Army - their expressed desire to destroy capitalist America, their willingness to murder innocents, and the belief that dying in the battle was in and of itself a victory, are clear evidence of the close parallels between left-wing extremism and islamofundamentalist terror. (I would like to point out, without any bias as to the merits of the action, that Dhimmi Carter commuted Patty Hearst's sentence, and later lobbied Clinton to grant her a pardon.)

Even the Democrats - who now control Congress - must admit that the islamoterrorists pose a far greater threat than the SLA! In fact, the islamoterrorists are a greater threat to the West than the Soviet Union ever was! (1. The USSR wanted to defeat the West, not destroy it! 2. Did the USSR ever murder 3000 civilians on American soil?)

Meanwhile it seems that a huge segment of the American public is not interested in these conflicts - or worse yet - doesn't get it!

I only pray that President Bush will wield the powers vested in him by the Constitution of the United States and redouble efforts to defeat the enemies of freedom, women's rights, and tolerance - before it is too late!

Reliapundit adds: Both then and now the Left supported the other side. The Left loved Mao and Fidel and Che and Ho Chi Minh. The SLA and the Black Panthers and the Weathermen were all of the Left. Nixon was demonized by the Left - even though, while he boldly fought and parried with the USSR, he started detente, opened China, completely Vietnamized the war, ended the draft, and restored law & order to the streets and campuses of the USA. And I think the fact that the Left was a Fifth Column then and that it's also one now speaks volumes.