Tarheel:

I do apologize for the roughness of my language in response to your first post here. My rancor was not directed to you; as I have expressed before, I have every respect for you, as a musician, and as a regular citizen of our wide-ranging community here.

I do think it is a litttle short-sighted of you to accuse me of not coming into chat and "hiding out in the threads". I at least do not call you names behind your back or accuse you of being a mighty small person to others when you are absent.

What I think is "small" is promoting violence, pretence, sanctimony and mindless compliance with ill-informed and unthinking leadership. These traits made sad fools out of the Japanese citizens, and the German citizens, and prior to them has made fools out of all kinds of people on all sides of every major unnecessary conflict. IF there is ANYTHING that a wise and thinking citizen should abhor it is unnecessary use of violence, because of the ruin it brings to all sides.

You have elected to support violence that was not necessary, because it is backed with a shallow, windy authority. I have chosen not to. You and I disagree. With all due respect, I suggest we not take it personally and be big enough to simply agree that we take different views. I have spoken my feelings using the same personal freedoms that you have used to speak yours. While I disagree with your thinking, I will never attack or undermine your right to voice that thinking freely, although I may disparage the reasoning behind it.

That's the risk and the reward of being free citizens of a great nation, you and I. I think it can be made greater without unnecessary war-faring than it can with.

A