I too ~ not unlike current candidates fighting for your attention & affection ~ have been vilified by many and lived to tell the tale. But, whether I like it or not, the rain falls on the just and the unjust; the fundamentalists of the right and of the left; our friends and foes. So far in this election season, yelling, screaming, insulting, threatening and ridiculing have gotten us where? Representative democracy is a messy experiment. I repeat: experiment. I hope it works, although it does not seem to be growing by leaps and bounds on a global scale. I will not yet abandon civility, discourse, negotiation, respect, acceptance, change, humor and/or the possibility of spiritual transformation.

Tonight I will be at the beautiful, waterfront, Long Island home of my wealthy, die-hard Republican friend watching the debate with a few people across the political spectrum. I am bringing a chilled shaker of Pepto Bismol martinis. I am pleased that we all are patriots who are civil in our discourse, respectful in our differences, and accepting that while our differences aRE significant ~ our similarities are far more numerous. “Enjoy” the debate