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NOT a Day of Silence 03 November 2004 4 10:52 Don't think because I'm silent that I've nothing to say. My thoughts are a maelstrom at the moment. I'm thinking sad thoughts of protests, riots, war, emigration, the decline of western civilisation, assassination attempts, bombings, starvation, homelessness, unemployment, poverty, imprisonment, disease, and death. I'm thinking it's strangely appropriate that I spent a couple of hours last night at a Solemn Requiem Mass singing Faure and that the "Libera me"/"Dies irae" movement of Verdi's is on the programme for this Saturday. I'm thinking, "Dear God, hope you got the letter, and I pray that you can make it better down here..." I'm thinking, "Save the people, save the children, save the country...Come on down to the Glory River." I'm thinking how right I've been all my life that the vast majority of Americans are too stupid to live. I'm thinking of my own personal vision of "scorched earth", not as the current administration would apply it to the world, but rather as I would apply it to them, though obviously, any thoughts of making them pay for what they've done to us are mere flights of fancy. I'm thinking how I've entertained his father and his predecessor, but under no circumstances would I ever consent to entertaining him. I'm thinking that with all our much-touted technology, America should be able to do better with this whole election process. I'm thinking I just want to go back home and lie in bed and drink heavily. I'm thinking that if it ends up being Bush for another four years, I'll emigrate to Canada as soon as my lease is up, rather than stay and bear the shame and the pain, or that the Northeast should secede from the Union. But it's not over yet, or at least that's what I'm praying for in much the same way as I pray roughly every six months for certain blood tests to come back nonreactive, so in the interim, I'll share this joke, which comes close to summarizing my feelings on the matter, for those of you who haven't heard it yet. George W. Bush is visiting a primary school and he visits one of the classes. They are in the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings. The teacher asks the President if he would like to lead the discussion of the word 'tragedy'. So the illustrious leader asks the class for an example of a tragedy. One little boy stands up and offers: "If my best friend, who lives on a farm, is playing in the field and a runaway tractor comes along and knocks him dead, that would be a tragedy." "No," says President Bush, "that would be an accident." A little girl raises her hand: "If a school bus carrying 50 children drove over a cliff, killing everyone inside, that would be a tragedy." "I'm afraid not," explains the exalted leader. "That's what we would call a great loss." The room goes silent. No other children volunteer. President Bush searches the room. "Isn't there someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?" Finally at the back of the room, little Johnny raises his hand. In a quiet voice he says: "If Air Force One carrying you was struck by a missile and blown to smithereens, that would be a tragedy." "Fantastic!" exclaims President Bush, "That's right. And can you tell me why that would be a tragedy?" "Well," says the boy, "because it sure as hell wouldn't be a great loss and it probably wouldn't be an accident either." r Last Dispatch - Next Dispatch