Marlena wrote: "Some of us will harden our hearts and become like the vicimizers and others will sacrifice (that word, again) ourselves and our families in order to help our neighbors and friends and those we meet who are in need." _____ Earlier in her post, Marlena asked about the purpose of governments and leaders. An initial answer to her was posting Crane's "Chaplinesque." A more bitter answer is that the purpose of current leadership is to encourage citizens to identify with their victimizers, to get humble folk to admire the jackboot as it descends on their faces, to play one of the three ineffectual and oblivious friends to every new Job. Since most Americans spend much of their time in front of a TV showing them a fantasy version of their own country, life will have to become very difficult--so difficult it can't be hidden behind sitcoms--before people's votes will be reality-based rather than fantasy-based. Yours in democratic miserabilism, Eric ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html