Bobert, there is no question but what the field is plowed, the furrows dug, and many of the seeds planted. Some of them have begun to sprout. Sooner or later, (and I believe it will be sooner-at least within your and my lifetime)one or two, or even a few of those seeds are going to sprout an effective, charismatic leader or two. It had better be more than that, because whoever is in power will use repressive measures such as the Patriot Act to good effect with respect to domestic affairs. The limiting of our rights and freedoms in the name of the 'fight against terrorism' not only result in increased terrorism throughout the world, it will likely result in an increased number of domestic terrorists focused on domestic issues.

Large scale, fear-based social control, such as mg advocates is as frightening to me as is social chaos. It may offer assurance that nearly everyone's basic needs are met, but it also insures unremitting misery in its stranglehold on free will. The role of society is to moderate chaos, not to extinquish it. Some amount of chaos is inherent in and essential to all of creation.

Balance

Always seek balance.

There is no balance of power now in the USA, Economically, the balance is so out of kilter, the power structure has moved so far toward fascism, that radicalism is neccessary to set the pendulum in motion again.

I wonder what our our sociopolitical system would look like if 65% of eligible voters routinely went to the polls on local, regional and national election days. I truly do not know. If that were to happen, however, I stronly suspect that the lives of people as opposed to the wealth of corportations at the expense of the lives of people (employees and unemployed alike) would figure much more prominently in the politcal arena.

Deborah, Don't let John Edwards fool you. He has enabled some good work in the area of poverty, but he is mainly interested in being powerful, just for the sake of it. I voted for him when he ran for Senator from North Carolina, but was very disappointed in his actual record, and in my dealings with his office as Senator on behalf of individual clients I was absolutely unimpressed. I don't yet know who I will vote for in the Democratic primary, but it won't be Edwards.

Janie

Janie