Peace Sign Turns 50

The Peace sign turns 50 today, but don't expect me to celebrate. If some deranged Vietnam vet beats the hell out of someone who is celebrating the peace sign turning 50, I might celebrate. Actually that is a little harsh. I'm actually a peace-loving guy myself and don't celebrate violence. However, if some deranged Viet vet did beat up some peace-sign-wearing dude, I would see a certain poetic justice in the act. But really, I don't want to see neo-Nazi or peaceniks get beat up, not one more than the other. In a free country both have the right to express themselves.

I know not everyone who wears a peace sign is an evil person, many just think it is "cool". To many it is just generally associated with the fun of getting stoned and creative music and 'going to San Francisco and wearing a flower in your hair.' Flower Power! Groovy! Peace! Far out! Cool! Many people have no concept of the context of the Peace sign, and it is just a fashion statement. To some, it has no more meaning than the 60's era smiley face. To some it is just a nostalgic relic of the past.

To me however, it is a symbol of those who won the Vietnam war on behalf of the Viet Cong. It represents those who gave aid and comfort and encouragement to our enemy. It is the banner that prolonged the war and caused more death and destruction. When I see the Peace sign I think of those who marched and chanted "Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh" and burned American flags and spit on returning vets. It is the symbol of those who hated America and allied with our enemies. It represents the worst of my generation.

The Vietnam war was not won by the Communist in the jungles of Vietnam but was won by the "Peace" activist on the college campuses and the streets of America and the peace sign was the banner under which they marched. Those who marched under that banner can take credit for millions of deaths at the hands of the Communist, for many millions more who were enslaved and for prolonging the cold war for an extra thirty years. The Peace sign represents to me those in the Communist fifth column who stabbed us in the back. If you want to offend me, the Nazi swastika, the Communist hammer and sickle, "KKK", and the Peace sign are all symbols that will do the trick.

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