Barbara Walters & Jane Fonda Sylvia Bokor In connection with an honorarium paid to Jane Fonda as one of ABC's

"100 Women o f the Century," on or around September 14, 2,009, Barbara Walters stated on The View, "I hope that we have all forgiven Jane Fonda for what she did during the V ietnam War and specifically when she visited the Hanoi Hilton." Regarding this, many readers left comments. I downloaded eleven. Of the eleven, one defended Ms. Fonda because "she was a kid" at the time. Another asked, why w as the issue being talked about again now? Nine wrote in the vein that Ms. Fonda committed treason and cannot be forgiven, despite her apology many years after the Vietnam War ended. I am in agreement in principle with those nine. We all know what Ms. Fonda did: Her disgraceful words to our soldiers, her shame ful conduct toward their captors, her servile allegiance to values and ideals th at our Founding Fathers rejected when they wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. Is there any excuse we might consider in Ms. Fonda defense? Can those who take t he side of the enemy in time of war be defended or excused? Given the Leftist influence on our government-run education system, given the Le ftist influence in the media, it's certain that Ms. Fonda was as much a victim o f collectivism as she was a perpetuator of it. Yet I and countless other America ns, were subjected to the same Leftist influences in government-run public educa tion, and Left-leaning media. We did not accept the view that Communism was supe rior to individualism. We did not like the idea of our men fighting a war that w as not in our interests. We did not like them dying so that politicians could po se as "against communism." Some point out that Ms. Fonda was "only 18" at the time, too young to know diffe rently. Too young, or too thoughtless? If too young, the fact is that many of us were as young as Ms. Fonda was at that time. But they did not take the side of the enemy. Neither did we burn our flag, although we were opposed to the draft. Nor did we spit at our policeman and call them "pigs." We did not interrupt spea kers or yell indecent epithets at them, or refuse to allow them to speak at all. We, too, were not happy that our men were sent to foreign lands to die and/or l inger in heinous conditions. But we did not turn on our soldiers, chastising the m for fighting a disagreeable war. Neither education nor age is the deciding factor here. What, then, was the diffe rence between Ms. Fonda and us? Ideas. The ideas Ms. Fonda acted upon. The ideals, principles and values that Ms . Fonda accepted and which guided her actions. The consequences of Ms. Fonda's ideas was to denounce American soldiers and POWs , to call them liars because they reported being tortured and beaten, to spitefu lly chide suffering American POWs with questions such as "are you proud to have killed babies?" Consider what this nation's ideals are: No man is above the law. Freedom and jus tice for all under the law. Habeas corpus. Innocent until proven guilty. A jury of one's peers. The sentence of guilt to fit the crime. Debtor's prison outlawed . A division of powers. A limit on presidential terms. The Constitutional freedo m of speech, assembly, worship and press.

Consider this nation's basic principles: individual rights, limited government a nd free markets. Consider this nation's fundamental ruling values: Reason. Purpo se. Self-reliance. Self-confidence. Individualism. Lifting oneself up by the boo tstraps. The work ethic of "a better mouse trap"---i.e. think of a better way to do something and work like the dickens to achieve it---and putting your "nose t o the grindstone." What are the Communists ideas Ms. Fonda extolled? Man must live for the state. T he state knows best. No one may descent from government decree. All rulers are a bove the law, exempt from the laws all citizens must follow. All citizens are wi thout rights. The government has total control over everyone and everything: how many babies one may have, where one may work, what one may study, where one may live, what meetings one must attend, the able must support the indigent, how ma ny acres of land may be farmed, how many cars may be produced, and so forth. All this Ms. Fonda accepted and fought for against a government that stood for the opposite. Ms. Fonda acted in exact accordance with the ideas she accepted. She damned thos e who fought against totalitarianism. She condemned those who did not accept the rule of brute force. She insulted the loyalty and bravery of free men who chose to protect the innocent against the savagery of dictatorship. We are asked to forgive Jane Fonda. I do not. Moreover, I consider Barbara Walte rs' "hope" as abysmally lacking in thought as Ms. Fonda's actions during the Vie tnam War. Another joins these two: the individual who left the comment: "Why the heck was this year old post bumped?" This is the same sort of question savages ask about the Holocaust: "Why bring up that old stuff?" One reason alone: Lest we forget and forgive those who err beyond reason. Yes, Ms. Walters comment took place about 2 years ago. Yes, Ms. Fonda's actions took place almost 50 years ago. But like the Holocaust, one does not forgive tho se who acted upon the ideas that made possible such grievous evils. There is a postscript to this exposition: Why was this two-year old Barbara Walt ers statement revived? My opinion is that the boiling anger many of us feel agai nst Mr. Obama's actions to change this nation into a collectivist welfare state reminded someone of what such a state means in practice. It means the ideas of H anoi Jane in charge of us while our best and bravest and most productive are imp risoned, regulated, controlled and ultimately destroyed. We must not allow this to happen.