The Communist Manipesto

Other than the fact that Stephen Colbert called it that on his late night show last week – “what does Karl Marx put on his pasta? Communist Manipesto” – it was interesting that when I went dressed as the Spectre in Red for a Halloween party (accompanying Ashwin’s turning-gray-grad-student-reading-Marx), so few people should have recognised a take-off on the Communist Manifesto. The original first two lines read:

A spectre is haunting Europe — the spectre of communism. All the powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre: Pope and Tsar, Metternich and Guizot, French Radicals and German police-spies.

My version red:

A spectre is haunting America — the spectre of communism. All the powers of the Grand Old Party have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre: McCain and Palin, Rove and Dole, Fox and Drudge.

Is it really that most people in this country are so wary of the S(ocialism) and C(ommunism) words that they don’t know what has to count as one of the most important historical documents ever (whatever your political persuasions or leanings)? In Berkeley, of all places? Ah well. Perhaps I should give unto myself a new title: Redistributor-of-Sauce. Move over, Colbert.