Dear George,

Did you read the Saturday DP letter to the editor from Robert Cooper? He begins by saying," I am in a state of grief"...and goes on to let the reader know he has been "conscious" of elections since 1932, which would make him, if not wise, at least mature!

Mr. Cooper could be writing for me. I dare to hope he writes for many folks. He ends his letter with a quote by C.S. Lewis which says far better the sum of what has been rolling around in my mind recently, especially since my evangelical sister called after the election.

"Of all the tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their conscience."

This inspires me to pull out my volumes of Yeats. I caught a portion of the Ken Burns' film about Jefferson on PBS Thursday evening. And now, I want to reread what Jefferson thought about the separation of church and state. I'm seeking reassurance that the majority of US citizens have not gone mad. The power of words is a temporary comfort at the very least and masterfully inspiring at best.

I read what Maureen Dowd said about "general" Rove. What a pathetic young man he was, all grown up into a bitter vengeful adult now. For all of his intelligence and "power" of persuasion, he is to be pitied for in the final analysis, he is a deceitful, exploitive, destroyer of mankind's goodness and welfare.

Eudora Welty said,"My wish, indeed my continuing passion would be not to point the finger in judgment but to part a curtain, that invisible shadow that falls between people, the veil of indifference to each other's presence, each other's wonder, each other's human plight." Karl Rove and those in his camp are the mockers and henchmen of such a philosophy.

Therefore, I deem them the most sour dregs of our society. The followers of them, I deem misguided fools. When Karl Rove said he and his want to offer people "choices", I wonder what the fools thought he meant? Them that will tote around their bags of money and Bibles, do they understand they are lost in a wilderness of exploitation?

One more quote from Albert Einstein: "Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds."

Goodnight,

Mary Johnson (electronic mail, November 8, 2004)