Want to see the future? Look at France. And look at Bridget Bardot.

What’s the lesson of Brigitte Bardot? Let’s review a little history. Once one of the most famous stars in the world, Bardot led the charge into the trendy issue of the day – animal rights. With the typical self-righteousness of the Hollywood left, she crusaded against evil seal hunters and evil corporations and evil conservatives in general. The avant garde of the entertainment world rallied to her cause. And she lived happily ever after, right?

Wrong. Apparently Bardot has been outspoken about the invasion of Muslims into France. So outspoken that she has been convicted and fined multiple times for “inciting racial hatred”. And not just for comments about Islam. She’s also been accused of homophobia.

Echoes of Geraldine Ferraro are ringing here. Doesn’t Bardot get a free pass from the new left for her lifelong efforts on behalf animals, the environment, feminism, and all the other causes so dear to the left? No. Once she broke with the current conventional wisdom of the left, they turned on her.

I hope you all enjoy the First Amendment, because it doesn’t exist in Europe. You are not free to speak your mind about what’s happening to your country. And since the Supreme Court keeps looking to “international precedents” to override the constitution, you can look forward to trials, convictions, fines, and maybe imprisonment if you dare speak up against the current mania of the left. Like global warming. Or diversity. Or whatever they come up with next.

Charlton Heston was a screen icon, civil rights activist, and chairman of the NRA. He will be missed. His life is an interesting study of the evolution of American politics.

Like many of his generation, Heston served in the military. Like Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, Charles Durning, and a host of others, he chose acting as his post military profession. Unlike most other actors, he quickly became a screen icon in films like ‘The Ten Commandments” and “Ben Hur”.

From the end of the war through the 1960s, Heston was a confirmed liberal Democrat. Whether he was marching in civil rights protests or supporting the Great Society agenda, Heston was fully onboard with the liberal agenda of progress and advancement from America’s ignorant past.

And then, Vietnam happened. The Democratic Party was radicalized to hate America. The popular historical interpretation is to say that Heston moved right, ending up supporting the NRA. But the reality is, the Democratic Party and the country moved left. As Heston himself put it, the Democratic Party left him. To his credit, he opposed the forces of radicalization.

But his story should be a cautionary tale to the rest of us in the conservative movement. For example, Heston was in the forefront when breaking the censorship guidelines for television and movies. He recalled the fight he made to say the words “goddam them all to hell” in the Planet of the Apes movie and get it past the censors.

Less than 30 years later, he found himself standing up in a shareholders meeting for Time Warner, reading offensive lyrics being published by Time Warner’s music records label. While crediting him for opposing the filth coming from the music industry, we also need to understand that Heston was fighting forces that he himself helped to unleash.

I’m sure breaking the censorship guidelines of the 50s and 60s seemed like a good idea at the time. But I think we need to understand that the television and film people of that era understood then what we did not – the power of the medium to influence a mass audience. In hindsight, we see the effects of profanity, sex, and violence on the behavior of the young. But the powers that be in the 1950s understood this BEFORE it happened. And for their foresight and attempts to control the medium, they have been labeled as repressed, backwards, religious, and controlling.

What does that mean for us today? Consider carefully the proposals that come for “the good of the country” or to “advance society”. Take Governor Schwarzenegger’s efforts to mandate the gay agenda into the California public school system. Sure, you might feel like you are advancing society. But beware of the long term consequences. Or you, like Heston, may find yourself 30 years from now opposing the forces you helped unleash.