NHNE 2004
Special Election Coverage

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NHNE Reader Comments on the 2004 U.S. Election
November 6, 2004

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1. A SIEGE OR SINGULARITY?
Jenny
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

I turn to your lists to stretch my heart and mind, often after months away. I read furiously for hours, soaking in the rich compost of ideas you've gathered, nourishing my roots. I did this last week, and I've been back daily, several times on election day, looking for contact, looking for sanity, needing community.

Recently I moved to Salt Lake City, surrounded by miles of people who are kind and well-meaning, but toxic. So I've turned to NHNE for companionship through this election, and today, this day after, I reach out to you with my grieving heart, that we might console each other.

Our supreme court, our airs and waters and soils, our health, our schools, our families, our neighbors throughout the world are under siege, and we now know that siege will intensify. I pray to the Great Friend asking how, why, for what possible reason could this be? Is our glorious growth spurt in participation still building for coming purposes? Another answer echoes Joe Firmage: a singularity is approaching.

Oddly enough, moving to Utah has meant studying the science of complexity. My dreams are flooded with dynamic systems flowing through trajectories. Two points right next to each other can end up in wildly different dynamics. We can't know why this becomes that. Peak Oil could trigger wonderful and/or alarming possibilities. A message written by someone who found NHNE through someone I sent your way and then suddenly died now comforts me. Still, I argue with God, how can four more years of Bush be possible?

I came to expect that a close race would end in the courts, given the long stealing of the vote in 2000, the lawsuits already begun this year, the problems with registrations and voting machines and overseas ballots. So Kerry's concession came much too early for my hopeful heart. After 2000, I don't trust that Diebold, Jeb Bush, and the Ohio election officials played fair.

It is my need for hope that has me writing to you. It's why I read your posts. It's why I wait months before reading them, and why my heart rises and falls as I plow through article after article. I come away feeling as though I've had a long night of conflicted lovemaking with the world, and though I have scratches to show for it, I do indeed love this world with my whole being. And that gives me hope.

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2. PRAYING FOR THE HIGHEST GOOD
Kathy Gray
Prague, Oklahoma, USA

On Election day everybody kept saying the results were too close to call. During the day, I listened to the exit poll reports. They appeared to be favorable to John Kerry. Therefore, I was astonished by the large margin of victory by the President.

I did not hear any reports of election fraud so against my better judgment, I finally came to the conclusion that maybe the count was correct. My husband and I were disappointed but had decided that nothing happens in God's world by mistake so we would try to gracefully accept the decision. We decided that in some way we couldn't understand that this was in the highest good of the nation.

Now that Bush has been reelected, he has stated that he has earned political capitol by this election and will spend it. I shudder to think what he will try to do. I will observe his actions and keep my faith in God.

The only thing I know to do is pray for the highest good for all concerned and have faith that somehow this will work out. Personally, I feel President Bush has spent all the goodwill of the U.S. and the U.S. will now lose more power and prestige in the world standing. I see China now taking steps to become a world leader. Maybe that would have happened anyway but President Bush has hastened its day.

I know the U.S. isn't perfect but it is a grand experiment. I am proud to be part of it. I am proud to be an American. My hope is that we will come out of this situation a wiser and better nation.

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3. THE FAT LADY DIDN'T SING YET
Sandra Ann Catherin
USA

First off, thank you so much, for this opportunity to tell others just what I am feeling!

I must tell you readers that I am a Christian! I mention this because there is a lot of discussion of the so-called Christian right bringing our country to this point, of what I believe to be madness. I know, at times, God's Will doesn't match man's, and so, I am thinking that, because Bush was reelected, this will cause a lot more people to wake up, smell the roses (or plant of your choice), then and only then, can change not only be possible and a dream of some, but a reality for us all! Now, for my feelings!

At first, I promised myself that I would not hear the results of this election until the next day, probably because I had a sick feeling inside my heart, after voting, myself. Of course, I voted for Kerry! Even though he didn't seem to elaborate as to what his plans were, I saw this as just being smart. Never tell the other side what you are up to, so they can't steal your thunder! Well, I did not keep my promise, curiosity got the better of me, and I ended up in tears, and asking myself, what in the world was going on? This damp, dark mood hung over me, until now!

I am now in the process of seeing this Bush victory as a challenge to me, and I hope others, in trying to figure out how to get our precious country back to sound reasoning, instead of where it seems to be at the moment! I feel very sad that fear seems to rule.

In closing, I hope we can take on the challenge of winning our country back from the jaws of doom, by listening, reading, praying, and selecting the best person out there, who will succeed, after Bush is gone! I am going to believe that the fat lady didn't sing yet, she is just tuning up!

Thank you, NHNE, and please keep us informed, as you always do! Love and regards to you all, even if you disagree!

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4. MEET THEM TOE TO TOE
Bernie
Los Angeles, CA, America the Beautiful

First, thank you Sherry and thank you David.

I spent a day in mourning. Grief and anger and even feeling like giving up. Now that's over -- time to get to work.

I fear disastrous consequences as a result of the election, especially to our dear planet. I am concerned that there might not be another Election; that the fear mongers may create something so dire that the American people would willingly give over power to a dictatorship. (And we must hold the line in any case, whatever it takes.) However, assuming democracy survives and the planet doesn't get too far out of whack, my perspective says that the election results are merely an indication that not enough people are awake yet.

That's our new job: awaken people. The vast numbers of people who believed the transparent lies purveyed by the current administration just need a little help pulling their little heads out of the their little you-know-what's. The facts are becoming harder to avoid, the arguments for the conservative agenda becoming more desperate, vague and irrational. I believe that people are intrinsically intelligent for the most part, but that we're all capable of being so enamored by the headlight that we miss the freight train about to run us down. Have compassion for those people who thought they were defending a way of life by voting for Bush. They are soon to experience the ultimate betrayal and it won't be pretty when it butts up against their denial.

I'm glad that voting inequities are being examined, and wouldn't it be a trip if the election could be overturned? However, the fact that it was close enough that the nefarious pranks of the right could make a difference is more to the point. If we want to take back America and create a world for our children, a close race is no longer an option. What was missing in John Kerry's message that allowed otherwise savvy people to even consider Bush an option? We need to start examining that question immediately. What was missing such that people were complacent -- didn't fight back when challenged, didn't hand walk their absentee ballots and registrations right to the offices? That people thought it was an option not to vote? This is where to look right now.

Before the Patriot Act is strengthened, those with the means to do so need to grab onto the falsehoods, betrayals, illegal and subversive actions and words that the administration has put forth over the first four years. We must make every new move by the Religious Right and the Neo-Conservatives be an uphill struggle. They want to fight, and we just want to be left to our own means. That won't fly any more. Time to meet them toe to toe. That means write, participate, win the little elections, share news clippings with friends and acquaintances, demonstrate. Above all, we must let go of all our own petty problems. Work it out. This is worth your life. Purify. Look to where you're being a Neo-Con Inquisitor in your own life. Clean it up. Where we have no integrity, we are powerless. Where we stand on our foundation of integrity, we will be unstoppable. What the heck: have you got anything better to do? Let's take it!

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5. STUNNED DISBELIEF IN CANADA
newstartforlife
Ontario, Canada

I am sitting here in Ontario, Canada, in stunned disbelief. I might add that this is the second time this year that I feel like this. The first time was after our own election, in which we, incredibly, re- elected the Liberal Party -- which is much like your Republicans. We also had ample proof that we should not do this, yet we did it anyway.

I personally didn't vote for them, but I imagine many US citizens are feeling the same way that I do. I also feel that elections may be tampered with, and probably are. I was, however, pleased with the voter turnout. Maybe participation will play a major part in helping to return sanity to the world.

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6. REMOVE EXTREMISTS FROM POWER
Dr. David Livingston
Northern California, USA

I believe our system is badly broken. We have the extremes of both parties controlling each party and the media. This leads us to candidates that have no place being candidates. Surely this country can do better than a Kerry vs. Bush contest for the highest office in our nation -- an office that requires wisdom, leadership, intelligence, integrity, character, and more. Instead, we have the tails of the bell curve for both parties.

Right now the Democrats got waxed in this election because most of America won't buy into their extreme and the Bush alternative was better, not because people want GW, because they don't want the baseless values of lies and extremes represented by the Hollywood group, the Michael Moore's, the Move-On crowd, etc. Kerry with a 20 year track record and Edwards who built his fame on junk science are not options mainstream America wants. If the Democrats are smart, they will get it about the danger of being controlled by an extreme of the party and move toward the point of moderation, the party of JFK and great Democrats that used to represent the party.

The Republicans still have to figure this out and they will once they see the resounding success the Democrats will have when they act on the lessons that they learn from this go around. Then in utter defeat, the Republicans will need to learn about the damage caused when controlled and manipulated by their bell curve tail, their fringe on the extreme. Then the Republicans will move toward the center and we will have candidates emerge that don't peddle fear, that have real options and understand the importance of things being in balance, not being driven by far out and extreme agendas.

This is a harsh criticism of both parties and our system. Its needs to be restructured but not by the extremists of both sides. We need balance and within that range of balance, there will be plenty of room to disagree about the best path to the goals most of us all want to realize. I hope the Democrats learn it this time. If not, in four years, we will see the extremes go against each other again and the American people will again lose regardless of who wins the election.

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7. WORSE BEFORE BETTER
R.S. Hurley
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

I feel unhappy, suspicious, and apprehensive about the next four years. I think that religion is playing too much a part in our elections and the media is no longer neutral. I don't agree with the direction our country is headed in,. Unfortunately, it seems we will have to get a whole lot worse before things get better.

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8. DEMOCRATS NEED TO BE HUMBLED
Tim Smith
Clinton, Mississippi, USA

My name is Tim Smith. I am 48 years old. I am married to the lovely Melissa and father of four wonderful kids ranging in age from three to 23. I live in Clinton, Mississippi, and work for the Mississippi State Department of Health.

The election, for me, marked a first (in presidential elections anyway), i.e., I changed my mind while in front of the machine. This is unheard of -- guess you have to know me. :-)

The results were, IMHO, not particularly surprising. I have struggled mightily, most especially since the 1992 election, with the two-party system. My beef is that it really isn't a two-party system, but a one-party system. The one party is the money party. I don't believe in career politicians. I think the whole process is so bought-and-paid-for, only a miracle would produce a true populist candidate from within the Democrat or Republican parties. Because of the total unlikelihood of that, I lay in prayerful wait for a recurrence of the Ross Perot phenomenon.

I am saddened by another four years of Bushism, but deep inside I know that four years of Kerry wouldn't be significantly different. What can we the people do? I no longer have any idea. We're locked into the bureaucratic nightmare. It has fed on itself too long.

The absolute worst thing that could happen, IMHO, would be for Hilary (or some other political insider) to win in 2008. The Democratic Party is reeling today at the thought of just having been blown out in the "most important election of our lifetime". But the sad fact is that they need further humbling still. Only a totally humiliated and desperate Democratic party would step back and totally reassess the process of selecting a candidate -- one who is a real choice -- one who can provide the groundswell for a creative new strategy of dealing with this tradition-laden family values opponent.

Well, a lot more could be said, but I'm out of time -- lunch is over. Keep up the good work, Sherry and David. Thanks for all you do.

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9. VET SIDESTEPS BOTH PARTIES
Dayne Hatten
Georgia, USA

Well, it looks as if a cold wave has finally consented to pass through our state, hopefully alleviating tensions and cooling down hot heads over the recent election and its results. I found that outside of the person for whom I voted for President, who wasn't elected, all the rest of the contestants were elected.

I find that our Third Congressional District Representative, Jim Marshall, handily disposed of his opponent. Hands down, Jim Marshall deserves the position because he has represented all of the 3rd Congressional District with equal fervor and zeal.

His opponent, Calder Clay, learned that everyone was tired of smear campaign tactics; and what was okay in 2000, was now passe'. He learned his lesson when the local television and radio stations refused to air his ads about three weeks before the election.

Too bad Bush and Kerry couldn't learn from the experience, but then they are national politics, not down here at the grassroots level. I personally grew tired of the name calling and even though I was a Veteran for Bush, I chose not to add my name to a long list of veterans who were voting for him. Neither did I feel compelled to vote for Kerry, because, after all, I am a Viet Nam Veteran, and have a long memory. Paybacks are a female dog!

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10. THIS IS STILL AMERICA -- THE LONGEST-LIVED DEMOCRACY IN MODERN HISTORY
Dianne Brannen
Macon, Georgia

Interestingly enough, Bibb County, Georgia, went for Kerry 51 to 49 [percent]. Of Course, that wasn't enough to turn Georgia into a Blue State, but as Sherry has pointed out [in NHNE's Forum for a Common Understanding <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhneforumfcu/>] , there was a strong showing for Kerry all over the country even where he didn't prevail.

For whatever reason, as much as I hoped Kerry would win, I don't feel so much sad or angry, as perplexed. I guess I had hoped America as a whole was moving out of the "Blue Meme." If you've read any Spiral Dynamics, you'll know that the Blue meme is the mindset, or developmental stage, wherein you are very much concerned with the "rules," prefer a black-and-white world view, and love being a dues-paying, rule-abiding member of the "in-group." This translates into "My country, right or wrong," and "Have you accepted Jesus as your personal savior?" I guess that's where we still are, overall.

I suppose another reason I'm not as scared as I might be is that I really am hopeful that the Democrats will clarify their message as the guardians of the welfare of those whose wealth is earned by work, rather than inherited or, dare I say it, stolen, and that this message will get through to those few percentage points of voters needed to turn things around in Washington in four years. It's happened before, after all -- remember Newt Gingrich and his crowd?

Of course, a lot of long-lasting harm can be done in four years, particularly in the form of loss of environmental safeguards and actual damage, and in the form of lifetime judicial appointments. We still have Reagan appointees on the Supreme Court, if I'm not mistaken, not to mention lower level Federal court appointments all over the country.

It's not great, but this is still America -- the longest-lived democracy in modern history, and the most economically successful country on Earth. I'm also hoping the outpouring of pure interest and desire to participate in this election will carry forward to more involvement by more people, perhaps even leading to a more INFORMED participation.

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11. EXTREME POLARIZATION
Bonnie
Colorado, USA

I feel shame for our entire country. I do not believe that the counts are accurate. It is time for a very necessary check of those Diebold voting machines, to see if the votes were manipulated. They do not match the exit poll results.

There is an extreme polarization going on in this country. It seems to be between those who are interested in being educated about current events, and those who are only interested in being fed prepackaged opinions at every level of their life. These same people want to be spoon-fed their religious rules and their rules of daily living. They want those prepackaged rules to guide their schools, and now their politics too.

We fought against the Taliban takeover, but now we're implementing the same kind of government in the United States. It is unthinkable.

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12. BOGUS WARS & MORAL DEFICITS
Pamela Slayton
Ashburnham, Massachusetts, USA

My daughter is attending school in Australia. The last thing she wrote to me before the election was: "I really hope Kerry wins so that maybe the Australian people won't hate us so very much any more." Through NHNE news, I've read that Bush was elected by conservative Christians because of "moral reasons". I understand those moral reasons and they have every right to their beliefs. But, how moral is it that tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women and children have been maimed and killed in the name of oil? How moral is a President who has constantly lied to the American people and just may have turned his back before 911? How moral is it that he is already considering invading yet another country? How will these people who have voted based on their "moral beliefs" feel when not only their sons, but their daughters may well be drafted to become permanently maimed or even killed fighting these bogus wars? How "moral" is a deficit that is so huge, it staggers the imagination and will not be repaid for generations? How "moral" is it that this country has become so corrupt, we, America, have had to have auditors from other countries watch OUR elections in the name of democracy? How "moral" is it that in the name of "patriotism" our freedoms and rights are being taken away, one by one. How will they feel, these conservative Christians who worry about the Anti-Christ and the end times, when a national ID tracking chip is placed in their licenses? I already know of 1,000 idiot yuppie parents who have allowed their children to be permanently micro-chipped (oh, in case they are kidnapped)! Bush has a very low I.Q. Apparently, he had to have a wire during the debates because he's too stupid to be able to think and speak for himself. Time will tell. But, I believe there will be no stopping him now. I believe he will lead us into WW III. I hope I'm wrong. But, if Armageddon should happen, just remember moral Christians, you voted for it!

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13. I'M GLAD TO BE CANADIAN
Stacey
Toronto, Canada

I am a landed immigrant living in Toronto, Canada, but still a US citizen born in Pennsylvania. I come from a long line of conservative Republicans, but was unbelievably surprised that even they still towed the party line in this election. My response is one of deepest disappointment and disgust. I think the US is heading for a culture that resembles such distopian realities as laid out in Margaret Atwoods' "The Handmaids' Tale". Of course a majority of those voters who supported Bush probably wouldn't even understand the implications of their choices, my family being one. So many Americans living here have said that they now are ready to apply for Canadian Citizenship and I count myself among them. It is absolutely clear to me that I do not wish to live or even visit a nation that is going to be propelled by such narrow views of what is "moral". I despise the tossing around of " God" when someone actually just wants power over another, and to shut out difference.

Thus, my response right now is "I'm glad to be Canadian!!" I do hope that a way will be found to unite the country, but the future does not look very bright when even the Senate and House are dominated by the same mindset.

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14. RISE TO THE HIGHEST IN OURSELVES
No name (to protect the innocent :-)
Hawaii, transplanted from Washington State

For a dozen years I was an ardent, highly visible public figure in environmental issues in my former state, defending and promoting the public interest in many arenas, including legal and legislative. Those were the years of the "take no prisoners" anti-environmental Wise Use Movement; environmentalists were the targets of organized hatred; and there was an unending supply of David vs. Goliath battles to fight. My experiences as a pro se litigant in the courts revealed that citizens had an almost impossibly high standard to meet to overcome the system's deference to the inner sanctum -- the members of the "club" -- and to institutions, even when corrupt.

As the inequities and injustices piled up, I found myself becoming angry, judgmental, and self-righteous regarding those on the other side of the aisle and the ways in which they were willing to twist or suspend the truth in pursuit of their goals. In my eyes, they exemplified the axiom, "The end justifies the means."

Then I became gravely ill and had to stop my work for a time. In the lull, I began to see that I was becoming, at least in my emotional make-up, those whom I had opposed. I was going down for the count, spiritually speaking, and fate intervened to provide me with the perfect chance to reflect on the status of "my heart" before it was too late. I discovered compassion for my opponents, based on insight into the reasons (usually anchored in some version of fear) that others were on their path, even when I deeply disagreed with them.

To integrate this new understanding with my ongoing advocacy for a world ever more on the edge of eco-crisis was not an easy task as the Bush coalition hijacked the presidency. My deepest disappointment lay with those who had the power to interrupt the takeover, but who sat back and did nothing. As the distortions, manipulation, power-lust, disdain for the masses, and raw greed of the executive branch were used to mislead and incite fear in my fellow citizens, my goal was to develop emotional serenity and trust in the perfection of all that happens, while continuing to take action in support of the things I valued.

In the wake of this election, our country and our world need us to rise to the occasion. To keep an open heart, to anchor love on this fractious plane of existence, to continue to act and advocate for the things we believe will heal the earth and all her inhabitants, to maintain our commitment to participate with integrity in the affairs of our world, to seek ways to restore our country's democratic underpinnings. This is not work for the faint-hearted or easily discouraged. This is a time when we are called to rise to the highest in ourselves, against all odds, against temporary, albeit monumental, adversity. We must be the world we want to create. The answer is, as always, us.

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15. BUSH CRUSHED BY IRAQ, SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS
MJS
California/Ohio, USA

It is disturbing that in an election where character and moral values are of paramount concern, we elect a president who is deficient in both areas. Everything about George W. Bush screams of disingenuousness, especially the issues of his National Guard Service, but also failing to admit to drunk driving, not to mention the failures of his business career and presidency. And what about right to life? Doesn't that apply to innocent Iraqis as well as stem cells and fetuses? I am appalled by the moral righteousness of these people! The true messages of Christianity, love and forgiveness, are replaced with intolerance and revenge.

While John Kerry went to Vietnam as a young man and had the courage and fortitude to protest against the atrocities of the war, George Bush lacked the courage to enlist (along with Cheney, et al), and lacks the moral fiber to decry the atrocities of Abu Grahib, ubiquitous throughout the military. George Bush will be crushed by the weight of the Iraq war and his moral self righteousness, and these will be his hubris.

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16. AUSTRALIAN'S FACE SAME CONCERNS & FAILING LEADERSHIP
Andrew
Woy Woy, NSW, Australia

The American people have voted. George Bush has been able to get a second term as President through a going to war strategy. This Presidential model for success (going to war at any cost and being seen as commander-in-chief) is a winner. With another four years and a greater control of the US Senate, George Bush will see this as a ringing endorsement of his policies, which will translate into a further move to the right, the greater emergence of Christian fundamentalism and the further alienation of the billion Muslims living on this planet. No doubt he will do his best to set up his younger brother, Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush to continue the Bush Dynasty and the "war against terror".

How many future American Presidents will follow this same war strategy to guarantee eight years in power?

As an Australian, for the first time in my life I now have to think very carefully about where I go on this planet. Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, Dubya's Deputy Dawg, has done the same to us. Where once we were universally liked and respected, the same cannot be said now.
I am depressed, pissed off, frustrated and angry, mainly because truth does not matter any more -– people will just believe which ever Truth Maker they want to believe.

Over 100,000 Iraqi's (mainly women and children) have died. Over 1000 US soldiers have died. More than 10,000 have been repatriated to the US with horrific injuries. Veterans from the 1st Gulf War are suffering horrendously from Gulf War Syndrome (only just acknowledged by the US Government). And this will continue for the foreseeable future. God help us all.

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17. KERRY LOST THE MORAL VOTE?
Taigiseadh
The Netherlands/New York

I can't believe Senator Kerry conceded.

What really gets me is that it seems Kerry lost on the grounds of morality. I never realized how much same-sex marriages bother Americans in general. Just 30 years ago, people were against interracial relationships and marriages. Now it's same-sex marriages. A little more than half the country elected a man who is keen on sending soldiers to the Middle East for human target practice yet this is okay. Where's the morality in this?!?!?!?!?

At least I can be proud that New York is a DARK BLUE state and that Kerry losing this election perhaps gives Hillary Rodham Clinton a chance to run in 2008.

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18. TODAY, I AM NOT AN AMERICAN
Carrie Ballard
The Netherlands/New York

My compatriots chose George W. Bush over John Kerry by 3.5 million popular votes. I don't know how that is possible. And the bitter truth is that it IS possible. No shenanigans, no challenges at the polls, high turnover. People from my homeland, my home, WANT him. And perhaps it is I who am out of step.

I thought if they were informed, if they saw, if they read and learned, they would reach the same conclusions I did. We were alike, only I had benefit of more information. But, no, they are quite happy as they are -- no, JUBILANT perhaps that their views have been given resounding confirmation. They are alike.

I am not an American today. Dutch people on the trams, trains, and in restaurants see my Kerry sticker and offer shocked politeness, asking me to tell them it's not true. I have nothing to give them. I tell strangers of my shock, my disbelief, my pain, and my isolation. On a cold foggy day in Amsterdam, a country that is not my birth place, I am approached by strangers who want to talk about it. Perhaps they are in shock and pain too, because in their homeland yesterday, Theo van Gogh was shot seven times and killed riding his bicycle through the city to work. Perhaps they need to say things to me too.

And a wonderful gesture -- the middle-aged Dutch wine merchant on my corner, missing a tooth and wearing clogs, responded to my "Vandaag ben ik niet Amerikanss" with " hier blijven !", "Stay here, with us."

And I heard "You are not alone. You are not homeless. Stay here."

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19. I AM BASICALLY FLABBERGASTED
Elise Harvey
E. Lansing, Michigan, USA

My f