a few things. He once helped a slave escape in the underground railroad. That his mom helped wash his laundry only makes his attempts at self-knowledge more real to me. Moms love to help. Don't be embarrassed by Moms, all you Thoreau despisers! The slave still was helped, even if was by a a man in Mom-washed clothes. And a book was written by that same man that has helped me through many a hard hour (more so than any so-called sacred text). Self-knowledge with a Mom's help and an Emerson's seems more achievable to me, somehow, than more fantastic alternatives.

All praise to Henry.

Is Floyd thinking that his passion equals general acceptance, or is he at the spot I hinted at, the one where we are driven back onto individual acts of conscience? Think about how Emerson and the Concord crowd reacted to the seizure of the runaway slave in Boston, who was returned down south by the authorities.The impassioned speeches Emerson gave--and the anti-slavery pieces Thoreau gave on other occasions--were not predicated I think on any hope of general consensus but on the need to speak out for the sake of individual conscience. Perhaps it is that you think the situation is not so dire that we are driven into the state of individual conscience. That would put those who feel the integrity of their life and soul threatened in ridiculous position of someone screaming the ship is sinking when it still safely floating at dock. But surely you can see their point? And it is not so clear to me that the ship is not sinking and it is time to make our peace, as it were, with the state of our souls. If the ship is sinking, then those who calmly ignore it would seem the most ridiculous of all. Me, I'm not sure: but we can try to figure it out I hope.

Your point is well taken if the crucial premise is accepted that the Democrat elected offers a true alternative. I would have wholeheartedly agreed with you until the 2006 vote when the Dems came in and basically did what they did, which was nothing much. That has given credence in my mind to the argument that democrats and republicans are all basically a puppet show front for the corporations, etc.--you know the whole argument, I'm sure. That relates to my point of whether or not there is any real hope, or are we in the place where we are left to try to live a life of integrity no matter what and that is all we have left, because nothing we do via voting, etc. means anything. I'm not saying I know that is true: just that the behaviour of the democrats have make it a loomingly terrible possible truth to my mind. In any case I agree we must act with hope as a perennial possibility, because if I am certain of anything it is that I might be wrong. So act as if change is possible, but do not act in such a way as to violate personal integrity, I suppose. But maybe those getting shrill are not clutching at straws, as you put it, RMP, but are getting their souls in order before the ship goes down. I do not have it in my heart to knock them.

But is it really heat and not light? Are you that sure? Do the dustups in the Senate mean anything? I am really asking, because I am not so sure anymore. And if the dustups are kabuki theatre--or at best the powers that be are letting Dodd put on a little show to appease folks like us and distract us--then Floyd is shedding a little light.

Man, all you guys posting are all so articulate and clear and all disagree! Talk about antinomies!

I think Queer National meant that to appear on the stage with a homophobe would be ANALAGOUS to appearing on stage with an anti-semite, not that McCluskey was an anti-semite.

for taking the time to answer with a careful argument. I appreciate it. You have given me pause and lead me to think that Obama just might be incredibly inept and naive (which leads to other concerns, as you note). I still am not convinced that QN does not have something of a point, however: suppose you discover some musician you've brought on harbors clearly racist views and is quite militant in proposing them (I am imagining here (per impossible? )an honest and thoughtful rightwinger candidate. Would the correct response then be to bring on a non-racist spokesman to balance the presentation while keeping the popular music lover on board? Somehow that seems wrong to me. Though you may get QN on the numbers, I think there is a kind of intuition here that is hard to quantify yet still compelling to the intelligence of the heart.

I meant the "beloved popular musician" not the "popular music lover"!!!