I'm not going to take up the drawing metaphor because I was a drawing major, can draw a straight line either way, the side edge of a graphite stick or charcoal works better, and the known universe and and I prefer curves.

   We're not talking about drawing or dreaming but the relation of our ideals to our practical lives. I can agree to disagree on AA, but what has got me so upset is kind of the arguments so consistently raised against it. That is bothering me a lot more than the question itself.
   
    To call AA racial discrimination just like any other racial discrimination, to equate it, to pretend to be above such human failings in some ivory tower with your moral ideals, your sympathy, your dreams, your straight lines, whatever, to find certain things "ironic" because you are equating quite different things--is to deny something about U.S. history, American culture, and yourself in it, if you are an American. It's wrong wrong wrong. Don't do that, please, you don't have to do that. You do stuff like that, you'll live in the margin of your own life. Find yourself wanting things you don't even want. You'll wake up one day and miss yourself. Please stop this crazy talk.

   And no, AA is not there to pat ourselves on the back and feel better, it's to kick ourselves, and feel worse.

   Anyone can chose to take my parodic ramblings amiss, be offended--like Doug R preferring to hear Sympathy and Compassion when I believe I said practical concern-- but they are not to attack anyone any more than me. Saints can excuse themselves. We may believe violence is wrong but the measures we have to take against it also contain regulated doses of violence, and they are not the same thing, are unfortunate, not ironic. We can dream and be inspired that one day there won't be this mess. Meantime, back at the ranch.

   That's why I keep making fun of these idealistic postulations--it's not how we are. It's not who we are. It's certainly not politics. Or maybe it's just me. If we're told to turn the other cheek if we're sinned against 7 times 70 times, and if we believe in it, it's our way to figure that's what, 490? And at 491 if not sooner we'll pop open a can of righteous whoop-ass. We make distinctions, qualifications, always, unless we'd just rather not.

You don't have to kid yourself to oppose AA. You can oppose it anyway, though I personally don't recommend it, right now. Wouldn't be prudent. At this juncture.