Suzanne, Thank you for your response. I read all your entries with great interest and appreciate the links you tuck into your conversations. You will be an active part of my “continuing education”, as is the Charlie Rose Show, The Jim Lehrer News Hour, Now, Bill Moyers, Tavis Smiley, PBS in general, 60 Minutes, NY Times, etc., and keeping myself open to new ideas and experiences. Getting back to holding out our hands to people of other backgrounds. In the future, I do hope that there will be something like an encouraged (reluctant to say ‘mandatory’) national service. Living in the Metropolitan Area for most of my life, I have been “mashed cheek to cheek” w. many different racial and ethnic groups (on buses & subways). I value having had opportunities to interact in various settings, with a multi-cultural, multi-racial population, and my friendships are rich and diverse. I think that, in general, we become more tolerant because of those experiences. Perhaps, if the year after high school, or whenever, citizens could get involved in projects, that included meeting/working with others from different backgrounds, our society, in general would become more open-minded and tolerant. Changing the subject a bit, I have a huge problem with the small percentage of Americans, who have been sent to Iraq and keep being recycled. (Please bear w. my circular reasoning.) I think many Americans are insecure since 9/11, and they somehow can disconnect and disregard the unfair sacrifice and the destruction of a country that had nothing to do with 9/11. If there was a draft, I don’t think that there would have been a pre-emptive strike in Iraq. I’m sure that there is a better solution that a draft, and I would not want a draft, if a reckless administration, like this one was in power. However, it angers and frustrates me, that so many can turn their backs on what position we’ve put our military/National Guard in and the innocent Iraqis, as well. When my brother and friends were in Vietnam, my family was glued to the TV and also awaited letters from my brother. Now, most of us do not know anyone who is serving in Iraq, so it is easier to dismiss what is happening to them and to the Iraqis. In “Audacity of Hope”, Barak Obama, talked about the ability of the elder Senators/Congressman to communicate and show respect for each other, despite party affiliation. Senator Byrd said that most of them had shared the World War II experience and there was a bond. Hopefully, there will be a less dramatic way for our future leaders, our representatives, and our citizenry to bond, so that we can deal with the challenges we are facing. Thanks for listening, Suzanne.