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[I Am A Sad Sock]

Very sad how politics is making its way into the dating scene. After a month or so of dating someone, with this person’s interest very obvious (in almost a scary way) one night on the phone came a long, one-way harangue about “Bush and Company”, complete with conspiracy theories and all. I voted for Bush but know little about Cheney and am open to other views. But…after two hours of an endless rant (including how could I have pulled the lever for these two) I cut the phone call off and suggested it wasn’t healthy for things to be so heated, so early and if he felt so strongly maybe he should strictly date people who are democrats. Mind you, the beginning of the call had been very sexy talk on my part and our plans were to get together in a few days for some serious heat. As it turned out, after this email to me, I instead got the item I left at his place dumped on my porch. Oh well.

The guy I was dating for a month
No--it's not a healthy sign that it's so heated, so early. It's a sign of the times--- you and I are a microcosm of the country right now. It's not a rep / dem issue at all. Powell was my first choice / hope, McCain following. I believe in their moral/ethical leadership along with their tough approach.

It's not fair or proper to begin the debate now, again, and besides anything we'd say we've heard already on cable news. But here is why I am so sensitive about the subject:

So far, I've not been such an active doer as you, although this is what I aspire to in the second half of my life. However, I have fought very hard in other ways since the age 14/15, putting my life on the line. Early on I took a very different look at the world and my place in it. From old fashioned male dominated rules/expectations on gender roles to a lust for power, at an early age, I made decisions in my life to not live in such silly ways--just as you do not. In my life's choices (career, personal decisions etc) I can not bring myself to make decisions that only serve myself. It's even held me back at my job because I refuse to make decisions based on politics, as opposed to doing the "right thing" for the business. Even in personal affairs, I have had woman I wanted badly, and in moments of vulnerability, I would fight my own selfishness needs, and instead only offer them advice that was well rounded, albeit less advantageous to me. I remember losing 2 woman in this way--- by giving them advice from two sides of the coin, at a time when I could have "sold" them on myself and really wanted them. So these are just silly examples, but you see--- like Ghandi taught the world--- avoiding human pitfalls is beyond being a DO - GOODER, it's actually a science that works for the long run.

Bringing this down to our situation, although all government has corruption, people like Cheney and Rove take the concepts of selfish POWER, WEALTH, and CONTROL to very high levels. I think it comes down to this---and this has been the hesitant factor in me since we met--- if you have any empathy, liking, agreement with people like Carl Rove and Dick Cheney, I am not your guy--in fact, you would only come to not be attracted to me and think me weak. My whole life has been spent fighting against the things that people like this stand for. Although on the outside they may say the correct things, one look at them makes it so plain that they are such old fashioned, staunchy old-time white males that are so out of touch. Gore brought with him a very intellectual vision—a broad one that would not have the same effective immediacy, but it could have set the tables for the future. (did you see the environmental chief last week who resigned because he was caught--he had the arrogance to alter a science paper no less to make global warming softer---by the way, this environmental chief was also an oil guy)

I know you have the GREATEST heart. I empathize with your direct experience of 9/11 and this is why I was able to put aside my strong views-you have a reason to feel so strong, but in a few years I think you'll see men like these differently--there's a reason you're hearing this from so many people--- historians, bipartisan think tanks, scientists, etc-- most are aghast at the way this admin. has operated and conducted themselves. It's nearly unprecedented. They think short-term-- and there policies are destined to make the world worse--- their lack of moral / ethical / spiritual principle is not romantic, it's science--though we can't see it. The Christian Right Wing is a total crack up--- they have hang ups with stem cells and gays, but they're cool with 40-80K dead Iraqi civilians... regular folks / children, like us. The way this war was poorly planned (we actually planned on being greeted with open arms like WW2--poor market research) and rationalized. Just like ALL of the congress and senate have NO kids involved--in fact the poor, young kids from low income backgrounds are mostly on the front lines--- fighting for Dick's desires and Rove's lust. Bush has just been led, if not by the later two, then by the same ole Texan spirit and stupidity that brought down the companies he tried to run.

So there-- my vehement feelings for this admin--not for Replicans, not America, not Americans, but for the select few in the inner circle who are quite sure they know what God wants, but fail to hear what Jesus said.

I like you --you're a woman who has EVERYTHING going on-- but yes, these politics will separate us --- I'm not your type in the long run. If you think I need to date a Dem. than I think you might need a top-gun. I'll never be a top gun. I've fought hard my whole life not to be. But, maybe we can sort out a friendship or at least revisit one another in a calmer state soon. I have to return that [item I left at his place] too!! I'll plan to drop it off soon.