Better Dead Than Red

I did not pay as much attention I guess to the politics swirling around during the Vietnam era.  I was younger and dumber and totally self absorbed as so many late teen/early twenty somethings are.  In retrospect I have to say that the polarization at the rank and file level was as extreme as it it is today.  Maybe more extreme because Americans were dying at the hands of other Americans..  Anti-war/Civil Rights v. My country right or wrong mentalities.  Some crazy shit went down for sure.

One of the popular slogans that grew serious legs was "Better Dead than Red".  Originally thought up by John Bircher Right Wing alarmists during the Cold War of the 1950s, it was dragged back out  to bolster support for the Vietnam War.  It insinuated that should we give up on Vietnam, we would all fall under the Pinko Commie umbrella.  

I find it ironic then that the current color standard of the Right is Red, given their historic phobia of the big Russian bear.  Had the Left truly been infiltrated to the core with Commies like the Right insisted and some still insist, why then was there no pissing match over who got Blue and who got Red?  .............. So give me a minute, or at least 1.5 seconds for Google to tell me why .......... tapping feet .......... drumming fingers ......

Well okay, I have an answer.  I was sure it had not always been so, and indeed the color coding did not take hold until the criminal election of 2000.  NBC first used color coding on their onscreen map.  They assigned Blue to Republicans and Red to Democrats, based on the already well established British media system in place at the time.

Apparently media gurus at the NY Times and somewhere else decided that Red was better suited to Republicans.  I quote, " It was a more natural association....."    Hmm...............

Regardless, I have decided to simplify my political stance and have borrowed something old and created something new to come up with my own slogan.

"Better Dead Than Red and Don't Go Blue, You'll Only Get Screwed."

This about covers my total disgust with the established two party political system of this country.  Neither side cares for it's supporters except at election time.  Both are more interested in furthering their party's and Big Business interests.  

More on this later, I have to go to work...........