Just as I started to drop off to sleep last night, I heard something that I normally wouldn't pay any attention to. A plane. I'm a few miles from a military base. I heard them all night. And another, just as I'm writing this. I'd like to make one slight editorial comment. Sorry, I don't recall whose post this came from. My apologies to that JMDLer for my being so careless in forgetting. The post read "All I care is that people dont become too patriotic and decide to hurt innocent victims here in the US that had nothing to do with anything." It's just the writer/editor in me, I realize. Drives my friends and family nuts. I agree with your sentiment entirely, but would suggest you might reconsider the word "patriotic" and use "vengeful" instead. For me, patriotic means doing what I did yesterday. I voted. (small local election...) It's ok to be patriotic - proud of the people who do everything from the mundane to the heroic to make the country a better place to live in. Proud of those who stand in line to give blood, proud of 200 firefighters who lost their lives trying to save others, proud of the passengers of Flight 93, who it appears thwarted the hijackers' attempts and lost their own lives doing so. It's ok to be proud of the principles of one's government, and better still to work, even in small, local ways to make it better. It's not ok to be vengeful. To indiscriminately lash out at anyone who's different from you or doesn't share your point of view. I hope I'm not belaboring this (but I guess I am). Sorry for being so long-winded. lots of love Anne
