In the evening I joined my favorite couple in making fajitas. I was skeptical that this could actually be done in China, as I'd seen similar attempts fail in Taiwan. But it actually came together beautifully. A was the master chef, she actually made tortillas from scratch, L made amazing salsa, despite us having no limes. I thought it would have been nice to have avocados too, but then I guess I'm just greedy. C grilled up onions, green peppers and chicken with some black pepper and cumin, and it really was like we were eating Mexican food. It was kind of a trippy experience when all of the Chinese roommates started to hear about what was going on and they all filed in to try this exotic cuisine. They all wanted to help, and they didn't know how to assemble the fajitas which was cute. We only had two plates, but we could only go as fast as the tortillas were being made anyway, so it worked out fine. Most of the Chinese roommates were skeptical about using cheese, but they seemed to like everything else. L, our program coordinator, who has lived in China for some time now, was skeptical about the whole endeavor, but in the end, he had to admit that the fajitas were in fact delicious. J and I just acted as assistants in the process. In the beginning I didn't do much, but once things really got going I was kept pretty busy, in the fun way. It was an interesting cultural exchange for sure.

I enjoyed your column, as always, but your animosity toward all things Republican concerns me. There are lots of things to dislike about Republican politics now--gay bashing, elitism, tax cuts, deficits, anti-choice, anti-woman, but there are still lots and lots of decent, intelligent Republicans who are about as uncomfortable with some of these positions as we are. (Cheney's negatives among Republicans have almost tripled. Colin Powell is a decent man and lots of R's--and D's--respect him enormously.)

I'd feel more comfortable if you were putting the onus where it belongs--on Bush and this generation of leadership, but the bigger problem in my view is the increasing polarization of American politics--possibly also represented by your demonization of the "other guys." At the state level in California the legislative Democrats have come close to bankrupting the state and have seriously damaged the economy playing not to needy lower class citizens but powerful, very well-to-do interest groups like the trial attorneys. Gray Davis (a decent man himself) lost his job because he played to the extreme left of his own party in a misguided effort to build support on the left (this from one of the senior D's in the California legislature) and was caught in the growing polarization.

The riff on Tim Russert (and I've never seen his show) also struck me as over the top. I do care about genocide, oppression, and dictatorships. I care about the dead people in Bosnia, Palestine, Israel, Ireland, and Iraq. I care because they are every bit as human as my fellow citizens in Kansas or Maine and because the kinds of conflicts, hatreds, and dictatorships that exist in these places have a way of coming home.

Should we be the world's policeman? No. Should we provide the intelligent leadership necessary for the world to police itself? I would hope so. And that Bush failed to do that and perhaps is incapable of doing that is reason enough to elect anyone else (even Kerry who may be the most elitist candidate for President in our history). I think it is important to oppose that which is repugnant as policy but not to automatically vilify anyone with a label that isn't us.

Polarization and "us vs. them" breeds more extremism and "winner take all" politics that lead to more commitment and involvement by more extremists on both sides and cyclical (and cynical) politics that divide and diminish us and ultimately diminish the nation. We fail of our promise in so many ways.

What's needed is a platform that entices the millions of decent people in the other party to support intelligent programs that move the country forward but result from shared beliefs that come from the middle of the political spectrum. Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Clinton all did this in their own ways. Bush-bashing is important, but the next step is to give decent R's a reason to abandon him and support a better way. Vitriol about all things R teaches them that they have no choice but to stick with their party--and every word of this note could apply in reverse to ideologues on the right.

July 14, 2004

13> "Israel agrees to the Palestinian proposal under one condition: We simply must have that hummus recipe! It's divine!"

12> "She may think her pyramids are holding up like they used to, but 'denial' ain't just a river in... well, you know."

11> "Hey! How'd that guy get in here? Oops! Sorry, Bulgaria."

10> "Well of course the United States says it will still respect you in the morning."

9> "Who does Iraq think she's kidding? Those WMDs are so fake."

8> "Bosnia, honey, drop the 'Herzegovina.' Hyphenated names are soooo 1995!"

7> "Can I borrow a nationful of oil?"

6> "No, they weren't an imminent threat. We declared war on them because their president was wearing the same dress I had on at the G-8 Summit."

5> "Listen Miss 'I'm-the-Only-Remaining-Superpower,' just remember that we knew you back when you were a lowly Brit stepchild with buck teeth."

4> "Would someone please get a bicycle for my fish?"

3> "All right, Arabs? Jews? Over here! We're all going to sit down with Dr. Phil and work this thing out!"

2> "By a unanimous vote, the 'Share the Pain' measure to stretch male anuses to 10 cm during childbirth is hereby passed."

and Topfive.com's Number 1 Thing Overheard at the Women-Running-the-World Conference...

1> "These summits are all the same: Solve the world's problems before lunch, then spend the rest of the day trying to divide the check."

According to Mercy Corps (an impressive, Portland-based outfit providing emergency relief around the world), the situation in Sudan has degenerated to the point that:

Remind you of the horrors of Biafra? Maybe, if all of us provide just a little support, we won't have to see pictures of skeletal African children, dying of malnutrition again.