As Election Day approaches...

The following message arrived in my inbox from Conrad Bishop and Elizabeth Fuller of the Independent Eye. I take it to heart and pass it on in that spirit.

"For 35 years, we've performed for a vast diversity of souls.  We have great respect for people whose views may be very different from ours. We grew up among Republicans, toured all over the USA, had a thriving theatre in a conservative bastion - and shared a common humanity with all.

Yet in this Administration we see little that we recognize.  We feel there's deep damage to the United States, and that we ain't seen nothin' yet.  You've heard all the arguments, so we won't repeat them.  The NY Times said it well in their Oct. 17 editorial endorsing Kerry.  It's worth reading.  Let's just say what touches us personally.

                *  Health.  We've worked very hard over many years, but that hasn't earned us the right to survive.  We pay a third of our declining income to health insurance, with high deductible and no dental. We're very close to losing coverage.  The American system does fine for Dick Cheney's heart; for us and many millions, it's a crap-shoot.  We have no idea what Kerry can do, but Bush's plan is pathetic.

                *  The "marriage" amendment.  We've now celebrated our 43rd anniversary, while our daughter Johanna, who's in a long-term loving relationship with a young woman in Italy, can probably never be certain that she can even stay in the same country as the person she loves.  We recognize that it'll be a cold day in hell before gay marriage is legal in the US.  But supporting a Constitutional amendment to classify our daughter as a second-class citizen and fomenting fear about gays as a threat to marriage is nauseating demagogy that masks the very real *economic* assaults on marriages today.

                *  The Economy.  To people in the financial community, Economy is a character with a quantitative medical printout.  To us, it's how we're doing in our lives.  Our state arts support has evaporated. Private donors are severely pinched.  Schools have eliminated arts programs.  I have no doubt that the Economy is fine for some people.  For us and for many friends, it's vile.

                *  The Patriot Act.  Several days ago, two servers of IndyMedia Center - a legitimate independent journalists' network - were seized by order of the FBI.  No explanation, no legal recourse.  Justifying all means in the name of fighting terrorism was precisely the legacy of the Reichstag fire.  The argument is, "Hey, we're reasonable people, we'll police ourselves."  But we have no trust in zealots who have proclaimed a "cultural war" when a majority of our public, according to a recent survey, believe that the President has the power to suspend the Bill of Rights.

Some will feel we're alarmist; some, that we haven't gone half far enough.  Some will opt for a symbolic vote.  For us, while we disagree with many Kerry positions, he's an intelligent, capable man - and the only hope.

Deficits rise with no end in sight.  The rich/poor gap yawns, and the US now is *27th* best in infant mortality rate.  My friend must pay $5/day for an hour's after-school daycare because the flat-broke district has eliminated a bus route.  We can't fund education mandates, but we can afford an ABM system and a new generation of small, "usable" nuclear weapons - then demand that "rogue states" cease nuclear proliferation.  We spend $120+ billions to destroy a dictatorship while propping up the absolute monarchy next door.  We promote freedom by torturing prisoners and seeking to classify American citizens out of their rights.  We abrogate international treaties.  We ignore global warming.  We eviscerate environmental protections.  We appoint extreme ideologues to the Federal bench.

Well, Homeland Security hasn't declared it, but right now, for us, it's Code Red.  We urge you to act."