Co-creating a culture of peace
Thursday, May 5th, 2005
Our democracy nerve is resonating.
I’ve gotten such a huge response to two recent columns I’ve written on the troubling, underreported irregularities in the Nov. 2 election that I’ve decided to give my column over to the voices of my readers, or at least a small sampling of them.
WHY DIDN’T YOU SPEAK UP? — Your column really expresses the isolation I feel and the urgency to get back to Democracy. . . . My grandfather, a German, left Germany when Hitler declared his power. My grandfather knew what was happening when people were not allowed to speak their minds. And we’ve been asking the Germans about the Holocaust, “Why didn’t you DO something about it? How could you let it get so bad?” Grandpa, who loved this country so much, is my main inspiration, it seems. — D.B., Tennessee
COINCIDENCE? — The CEO of Diebold and the other computer voting machine company (ES&S) are brothers – just a coincidence? I used a Diebold teller machine at Bank of America the other day and did get a little slip of paper telling me how much the transaction was. (Voting machines could do the same.) — T.S., California
MY STOMACH’S IN A KNOT — I’m in tears, Robert. Please don’t let this issue die. For nearly six months I’ve been studying what went wrong with the 2004 election, handing out orange fliers to strangers, writing leaders and the media begging them to wake up, working in two grassroots groups, spreading the word on multiple websites, and spending eight to 10 hours daily in a very lonely, isolating cause. I have been out of control, barely able to focus on anything else. I even pushed myself away from friends because I couldn’t talk about anything else. My stomach has been in a knot since Nov. 2. — J.K., Illinois
PAPER BALLOTS — I am a 10th generation American, from the early 1600s, and I really feel that democracy is in terrible trouble. We are recent residents of Oregon, coming from our native California, and are most impressed with the Oregon system of voting. It is all paper ballots, and all by mail. The counting is apparently very well monitored and true. There are no polling places, no poll workers, no problems with weather or time off from work. The ballots come out in plenty of time for serious decisions. — D.M., Oregon
TOO MUCH FAITH — I’ve been one of those people who’ve been concerned about this issue since before the 2000 election – it’s been one of my biggest fears. At the time, I comforted myself with the notion that the media would never allow this to happen. If electronic voting machines were installed across the country and Bush attempted to steal another one, there would be a hue and cry on cable news, 24 hours a day until the issue was resolved. Clearly, I had far too much faith in a system of checks and balances. — L.H.
A DISENFRANCHISED EVERYTHING — I live in Northeastern Utah and I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your piece on election fraud. I am a disenfranchised “everything.” From a conservation activist who knows that most Americans believe that we should do something about global warming to a voter who knows the presidency was stolen. — N.B., Utah
DON’T REQUEST, DEMAND — Thank you for your questioning the authenticity of the Bush election. I was a delegate for Kucinich in our county. The Democrats wanted to request a paper trail. I interjected, “Demand a paper trail.” There is no option if Democracy is to survive. — K.K., Washington
BIG BROTHER — Ought we to feel threatened by even writing this to you? Has the democracy fallen apart even to breaches of privacy in our own e-mails? — C.M., New York
RESIDING IN TRUTH — It is very difficult for the Left Wing to accept the fact that the voters have rejected the Left Wing and its far out secularism that attempts to delete God from the face of the earth. You must admit, your time has come to enter the reality of absolute truth. Scary for you, but not for the Right Wing , for we reside in this truth. — J.P., Louisiana
MOONBAT — Just read your column re the “stolen” election. My question is, are you supposed to be a serious columnist or just another moonbat lefty? — Charlie