a letter to an american friend...

I thought I'd share this (edited) email with those of you voyeuristic enough to read this blog:

This is a composite reply to all outstanding emails from you. I've been unable to get my head around "issues" enough till now to formulate a relatively sane reply.

About being "middle of the road"... I read something the other day, but I can't for the world of me remember what exactly, except that it was a neat aphorism. Something along the lines that if you travel in the middle of the road you're heading for a head-on smash... :-)

A warning about my personal blog - you may be offended by comments I make there about America, God, and religion. These are three issues about which I have a tremendous amount of anger. It's just as well I've made a vow never again to kill people as a way of solving problems. In any case, my blog is where I shout my insanities at the moon. It's my therapy tool. And it scares some people. But not as much as America scares me, and it's not just Bush and the neo-cons. The Dems aren't all that different. I'd better shut up now, or I'll get on a roll and another rant will happen... :-) Read the blog if you want to get an idea of what I think.

"Hang in there, Gerry. If you have a lot of unfocused anger, it sure doesn't come through in your writing. What I hear in your 'voice' is hope."

Ha! That's because if I wrote to you when I'm angry, you'd probably never write back again. I'm not fit for human consumption when anger is having me. I often wait days before I can reply to someone in a civilised way. And even then, as I write the reply, heaps of editing is required to make the final result even slightly fit for human consumption. "Hope"? I see no hope. William Blum says it all in "Killing Hope", and "Rogue State".

Your friend (a Vietnam veteran whose name is deleted here) says he has healed. In a way I envy him. I have not healed. I cannot even conceive the idea of healing till America stops screwing the world "in America's interest", because it's all just an endless string of Vietnams. I cannot understand how he can feel healed and be aware of what America is doing to the rest of the world. Has he got his head in a zen sandpit? Sorry if this is a bit harsh... It's not anger, it's white-hot rage..

I'd better end here,

Peace and Love, in a time of war and hate,

Gerry