Yes, this is really a great thread. Between it and the "Claymore's in the Hospital" thread there is just way too much goodwill going on around here.

I think that, regardless of where any of us stood before the war began, we all feel a little helpless now. And I think that sense of helplessness is causing us to realise that the differences between us aren't as fundamental as we thought.

I had a unique (well, it was unique for me) experience over the weekend. My wife and I make our living as potters, selling at arts and crafts shows on weekends. We didn't get in the show that we had wanted to be in this past weekend so we scrambled around for a backup show and wound up at a "sausage festival" put on as a fund-raiser for a nearby volunteer fire department. We weren't familiar with the festival, and were expecting pretty much the same scene as most area craft shows - a little food, a little art, entertainment by a few local bands. Wrong! The festival is very much about live entertainment and the live entertainment it's about is country music. The headline acts were Craig Morgan, Darryl Worley and Blake Shelton, names that mean nothing to me, but all of whom I was assured are pretty big dogs in the CM world. Anyway, here my wife and I were, quite possibly the only two pinko peaceniks in a sea of red, white and blue shirts, cowboy boots and Budweiser cups. And nobody shot us! Hell, we even made a little money.

Most importantly, I was impressed with the sincerity of the folks who were there. They aren't a bunch of war-mongers with "Time to kick some ass!" bumper stickers on their pickup trucks. They are as sincere in their beliefs as I am in mine. It's easy to deride the attitudes of those with whom we disagree if they're faceless yahoos. It's harder if they're real human beings.

That's enough warm fuzzy shit for one night. Better stop before I start telling you that Gargoyle is really a nice guy and that he's just yanking everybody's chains with that asshole misogynist persona he adopts here.         

Bruce