>The red star.... Why reuse
>a antique of the 1960's?

The 1960s, huh? Maybe you should try learning a little history before trying to teach it?

Be it black, red, or yellow, the star has been in common use amongst revolutionaries (communist and non-communist) for a long damn time. Certainly anarchists, socialists, and communists were all using it in the late-19th century. Earlier examples would probably be easy to find...

The use of a simple star is not the same as using a more complex, detailed symbol which might be more readily identified with a specific group or country. For instance, the "hammer and scicle" specifically identifies the USSR. Attempting to relaim such an icon for use in a non-pro-USSR context would be difficult, to say the least. The "hammer and scicle" is hopelessly associated with the brutal totalitarian Bolshevik regime.

However, the same is not true of a term such as "socialism." While the USSR called itself "socialist" (and the USA went right along with that lie), the term (and its underlying ideals) need not be abandoned.

Nor need it be true of the term "democracy." For all of the murderous, oppressive operations that have been funded and directed by the US in the name of spreading "democracy," the term and its underlying ideals are still vital, and are still upheld by true revolutionaries, such as the EZLN.