(September 30, 2011) — Several years ago, actress Cameron Diaz visited Peru wearing a purse which contained a communist symbol and a quote from former Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong. She was shocked to find out that many of the Peruvians she encountered did not like her purse nearly as much as she did. Peru was in the middle of the Maoist Shining Path insurgency which had killed over 70,000 people. The problem is not that Diaz was not well informed on Peruvian history. The problem is that it is considered “cool” to have a bag that is anti-America, anti-West and in general, anti-everything people should stand for. This contrariness without actual cause, although popular, is bad. It promotes ideologies that have historically destroyed countries and killed millions because people misunderstand what these faces and phrases actually mean. If one looks at a group of college students, one can always expect to find someone in a Che Guevara T-shirt. The revolutionary has become a symbol of standing up to authority and Marxist ideology in America. But there is a reason you will never find a Cuban in America wearing a Che shirt. They know that he represents a regime that executed thousands without trial. The fact is, the United States fought wars against socialists, communists, fascists and anarchists, but not because we wanted to popularize cheap clothing. It’s because almost without exception, the people we were fighting against are evil, and definitely worse than the United States is. Also, though wearing a T-shirt is just a minor misguidance, eventually, those people wearing them grow up, get to vote, and unfortunately do. People who do not understand exactly what the history is of what they believe in are allowed to make decisions that affect everyone, and because they are unwilling to truly learn the past of their ideology, they slowly destroy the country which gives them a right to carry Maoist handbags and wear Marxist T-shirts in the first place. Regardless of what they believe in, people must at least make an attempt to understand why they believe in it. Hopefully, if they realize that there is a reason these ideas are looked down upon, they can change their minds and try to follow an ideology that really is good for everyone instead of trying to be cool and different by being anti-American. Or they can at least wear a different shirt.