(Email to an ancient friend in England, who is getting ready to commit suicide.)
My dear Jenny, I went to Santa Fe today to vote. It's an election for US Congress-critters and also for some State Governors, including New Mexico's Governor. All the polls are predicting a Republican landslide victory.
Our poor benighted brethren to the right (Bush's fan club) are champing at the bit - over-saturating their tea bags - getting ready to measure the halls of power for star-spangled drapes.
Santa Fe of course is a bastion of liberalism. You could spend a whole day in Santa Fe without ever seeing a single Republican. I was wearing my little "My Vote Counts" lapel sticker, that you get when you vote, and lots of pretty ladies gave me wonderful smiles.
But Santa Fe ain't like the whole State, not by a long shot, and it looks like we Democrats might lose our Governorship to the dark side.
So what the hell. What the fuck. Maybe the whole world IS going to the dogs, or to the fascist oligarchs, or right off across the end of oblivion. I figure that as long as I do what I must do, and do it well, I've got nothing to worry about.
There's always been a lot of argument about whether life is a blessing or a curse, and both arguments have made good points. Scientists claim to remain neutral about the question. Buddhists have a tendency to re-phrase it.
I mean look - Bush was our president for eight years, and we survived THAT, did we not? In many ways Bush made us even stronger, and more aware, more resiliant. Not without cost of course, but nothing worth knowing is known without cost.
You say you think like an old hippie, but do you really? You've already paid the price, you've paid your dues for being unconventional, for seeking some higher purpose. You KNOW that the entire belief structure of our culture is unreliable. Does this really and truly make you want to DIE?
And so on, I keep writing to this friend.