Before I get to the type of post I am known for, I wanted to share an experience from my teaching at a pretty nice college in America.

We had a quiz on world events, and one of the "easy" questions was members of which political party in China joined with peasants in a recent political demonstration in a certain province. Many intelligent students had a problem with this -- typically choosing instead the "Chinese Nationalist" party from a multiple choice list. Many did not choice the correct answer -- the Communist Party.

To me, this is hopeful. China is not recognized as a Communist country. I'm not that much older, but I remember Pravda, the Berlin Wall, and President Bush announcing the reduction of some nuclear missiles in Europe. As American neoisolationists like Nancy Pelosi (on the Left) and Pat Buchanan (on the Right), it's heartening to see their most powerful weapon ("But they're Communist!") will not fire.