Back from Florida and still feeling as if I have been beaten with a bag of oranges, I am trying to come to terms with how to live in this new place, this place where I am a minority, where I cannot begin to countenance the world view held by so many, including those who are in charge of my government. I am not sorry that I went, although my cynical mind led me on more than one occasion to question whether we—all of us—the lawyers from all over the country, the organizers, the DNC, the campaign committee—were being used, whether our very presence enabled and helped to conceal fraud. “Look, “they said, pointing to all of us. “You were there and saw that everything was on the up and up.” I distrust the electronic voting machines; they are so easily manipulated, as any teenage hacker can tell you. Even so, I do not regret going. I felt that I had to do what I could. I prefer to think that our presence served as a deterrent to at least some problems. But whether or not this election too was stolen from the rightful winners, from the American people, the reign remains and we need to move forward. Once again, Howard Dean had it right and wasn’t afraid to say it. When asked about the ability to find common ground, he pointed out that there is no common ground between people who have, in four years, burdened a previously debt free nation and generations to come with a deficit of staggering proportions, who believe that the murder of thousands of Iraquis is of no moment, who make no effort to hide their no bid contracts and hate filled proposed amendments to the Constitution. While I feel sick at heart about the outcome of the election, I will not accept smarmy pleas for “healing” which are nothing more than iron fisted insistence of capitulation and surrender. No, the fight will continue. This was the most important election certainly of my lifetime and I will not allow this setback to change forever the country I love in ways I find so shameful. Even though the election was not won, we are in a better position with hundreds of thousands of newly registered voters, with organizations like MoveOn and with a deeper appreciation of the critical need for vigilant participation in the process at every level.