out in the mountains Wall and desk calendars with YOUR PHOTOS! A great gift idea for the holidays! $1 per order donated to the Chittenden County Humane Society! Photo Garden We Care For Your Memories! 206 College Street Burlington VT (802)863-1256 28 Tafts Comers Shopping Ctr. Williston VT (802)878-0417 www.thephotogarden.com Susan McKenzie MS. Jungian Psychoanalyst Licensed Psychologist - Master Specializing in issues of Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgendered individuals and couples Quechee — White River Junction (802) 295-5533 Insurance Accepted OUT in the MOUNTAINS Amazon ral if Don't Lose Heart We are required now to work mgelherfor the good of our coun- try. In the du_v.v tilie-ml. we mu.vI find conmiort (‘(Hl.\‘t’. We nm.\'I join in contmun effort wirliour I't'IIlUI‘.\¢’ or recriniiriurion. without anger or rancor. .-tniericii is in rived ufum'r_v and Iongirig for u Iurgcr IIlt’(ISllI‘(' of conipmsiori . Senator John Kerry. Fanueil Hall. Boston. November 3. 2004 Kenys words. My question is. ..HOw.‘,.- How can I work together with an administration that utterly ignores the needs and desires of half its people‘? Where can I find common cause with men who not only wage war. but do so against the will of so many of their con- stituents? How can I swallow my anger at a so-called president who promises to destroy the twilight years of Americans who have trust- ed in Social Security all our work- ing lives? How could I compromise myself so muctrthatttii any way would support the looting of my country's treasury to make the rich richer while many of us do without decent health care’? People all over the world are mourning the outcome of our election. A friend in England writes that she feels "unsettled by the dis- appearance of a solid. democratic and more paternal USA. replaced by the scrap-yard canine bruiser who bites before a warning bark." Given the scrap-yard tactics of those elected. l fear democracy itself is at risk. Once, I trusted the checks and balances of our govcm- ment to protect us from takeover by ideologues of any stripe. How na'i've. I appreciate the intent of Senator The blame cannot be placed solely on the heads of greedy politicians. l‘ve read over and over that the American people were duped, were seduced. didn't understand the issues, but I have been coming slowly to the dispirit- ing realization that we are being too kind when we excuse 51 per- cent of American voters. Could it be that there was not a lot of cheat- ing, that they weren't fooled by Dubya for one minute? Could it be that they actually like him and. worse, think like him? its true that there are those vvhojust don't think » like ttiy neighbor tip the block who votes however her son tells her to, like the voters who have been trained to hear communist when the word liberal is spoken and who see visions of depraved seat when the word gay is used. It is also true that a huge number of Americans drive Sl.’\’s even though oil con- sumption threatens the Alaskan ers can't stand the thought of us manying one another‘? Still. it‘s a splash of cold is ater in the face to look at these figures in black and white. The rigid right used our gen- tle people as a battering rain to get their candidates in. lit en in pro- gressive Oregon. 57 percent oi our neighbors voted to lock us out of the county clerk's office if we're looking for niarriagc licenses. My question remains “How "" How do I keep a smile on In) face vs hen talking to the vsotttattt tip the street with her Republican candidate signs’? How do I accept a Supreme (‘ourt whose appointees “Ill be put there to keep me do\vn'.’ llmv do l heal when gay people have been so savagely used.’ As much as l wanted a smart leader like Senator Kerry to uni. \s hen he asks us to “work together for the good of our Coun- Iflm not about to move to Canada or Ireland or to become an expatriate in gay Paree; I'm not that adventurous and would go broke just moving my books. wilderness. There are people the world over who do not but an eye about the slaughter of one or I000 lraqis. who think the planet would be better off without people unlike themselves. I wonder if some Americans equate democracy with Christianity and see the invasion of Iraq as a holy crusade. It's hard to adjust to liv- ing in a country half full of such people. l'm not about to move to Canada or Ireland or to become an expatriate in gay Parec; I'm not that adventurous and would go broke just moving my books — if Canada even let me bring some of them in. The U.S. doesn't have a monopoly on backwards attitudes. But it's tempting to think about running away from conserva- tives who write anti-gay ballot measures that remind me just how stuck hcts are on keeping gays down. Was it a surprise to anyone that 86 percent of Mississippi vot- try." l simply see no way to comply if he is asking me to play ball with l)uhya's henchmen. I will support my elected officials in their effort to resist the bruiscrs in the White House. I will be a responsible citi- zen and make my defiant voice heard in this supposedly represen- tative dcmocracy. I will participate in every way I can to choose a more balanced government in an honest election. “l)on‘t lose heart." wrote Starhawk just before the November 2nd election. Unity with this administriitioii would only bring me shame. My bean is in resist- ance. V ('0/)_vI‘ig/1! 2004 La’ I._wit‘/t. L)‘Itt‘h i.\' I/It‘ (ml/ior oft‘/('w'Ii Imnkx imlmliiig The Swaslibucklcr mid the Morton River Valley Trilogy. S/it’ lii'c.\' mi I/it‘ ()r¢-grm (‘mi.vI. Her web /mgr ii‘ at Imp.'//lcclyiiclio Jripml .c(i/ii.