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Feeling the Chill | Evening, Nov. 9, 2004

There remains this whole question of what to do. My friend Ginger, an old friend and a smart one, wrote to me tonight and said the big shocker for her regarding the election is that votes really aren't counted as much as statistics are analyzed. I have heard people say that recounts are meaningless; they may be. There is talk of economic depression and military draft. The most massive battle of the war is being fought right now in Falluja.

The ray of light is that when power gets too concentrated, it starts to consume itself. We are well within James Madison's definition of tyranny. I'll put it in large print, in yellow, so you can see it with your eyes closed. I did not make this up. Madison wrote a lot of other things that will send chills down your spine.

"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." -- James Madison

I am, however, wondering how long it's going to take people feeling powerless to make them [us] feel angry. I think a grieving period is a good idea with a loss like this one, but you know, this was an election and not your best friend -- yet I'm hearing very little in the way of outrage. We are generally people too good to be angry. But by the time the meek inherit the Earth, I would hate to be around for it.

If I may make a suggestion, if you're concerned about the election, and the state of the country and the state of the world, get out of the house and go where you can talk about it in person with people. I imagine the local Democratic club has something going on, maybe a friend's house, maybe take a couple of hours off from work and go talk to your local city or country representative. Back in New Paltz, the local McDonald's was the political hot bed every morning before the guys went to work. Whether if you live in a small town or a big city, I suggest you find people to communicate with, so that the word WE begins to have some tangible meaning.