Martin, you are of course entitled to your opinion. But similar to your thinking on the Pete Seeger thread, your kind of thinking, it seems to me, is unrealistic, counterproductive, and most importantly, harsh and unforgiving. Your approach, it seems to me, would suggest that the preeminent concern is always results, that nothing seems to matter except results, whether it be technical quality of musicianship or definitive decisions; and the process, the context, the history, the impact, what it might portend, indeed multi-dimensional possibities including any self-doubt, are not considered. The truth is that the process of living involves continual reconsideration of decisions, continual change and (hopefully) growth. The truth is that the world is not black and white, not right or wrong, but always shades of grey; and that real life is in fact a continual process of re-evaluation, mistakes, corrections, risks, trial and error, etc.

I believe that with your eyes on the prize with a heart full of empathy and compassion, especially for the weakest among us, we'll get there. John Kerry and Pete Seeger are very different people, but, more or less, that is their approach. And that is the approach to which I subscribe.