This week the Republicans are holding their national convention in New York City to nominate George W. Bush for re-election to the office of President of the United States. Outside Madison Square Garden, the site of the event, there are supposedly over 100,000 protestors. They're chanting, carrying signs, jockeying for camera face time, getting into fights with cops, and getting thrown in jail en masse, as any good political protestor should strive to do. That is good, more power to them, democracy and free speech in action. I'm happy it's happening. It's good that people are so involved in the political process in this country, and so willing to go to such extremes to make their voices heard.

What bugs me is the realization that we're going to be hearing these people talk about the time they stood up to The Man for the rest of their lives. They're the new flower children. In 20 years they'll make movies about the Summer of 2004 and the brave anti-establishment rebels who tried to sway the US from war. In 30 years, a presidential candidate will run partly on the fact that he strove to make a difference back in Aught Four. The music of the era will become symbolic of the current anti-war movement. The clothing styles will fade in and out of fashion among the disaffected youth just like people still wear tie-dye today. There will be books written about the brief shining moment of revolution. Cop shows will do stories about radicals who've been on the run since this week finally being brought to justice.

In short, I fear pop culture will be infected by smug, self-satisfied, self-righteous, self-proclaimed dissidents who will make careers out of the time they fought back against the system that tried to crush their dissent and silence their voices. We'll be inundated with stories about people not being allowed to get their messages out. I just don't want to hear it.

And, dear God, I don't want to hear Britney Spears' "Toxic" at the 2028 Democratic convention.