I try to answer all the email we get at DSM.com, and that means reading the wingnut flame mail too. Occasionally, however we do get mail from people who, though they don't agree with our position, demonstrate a refreshing civility and humanity in expressing their views. Bob was one such individual.
He wrote in initially about the semantic argument that came up last week over the word "fixed" as used in the DSM, but the discussion expanded to much broader issues. Here is a recent email he sent to us:
I wish it was possible on a wider scale to have calm, intelligent discussions about the important issues. The conflict in Iraq is very painful to all of us. My son is serving in Iraq at the present time and I trust he will come hope safely.
Although I do support Bush and believe I understand why he and his advisers made the decisions they made, I unfortunately believe that we that we seldom get our "best and brightest" citizens in the highest levels of government. With the level of real hate that seems to exist out there, it's no wonder the kind of people we need as leaders don't want to expose themselves and their families to that kind of life.
I think we need a third party - the "Common Sense Party". Because I am firmly pro-choice and support a ban on assult weapons, am not an evangelical Christian, etc., etc., I really don't fit the image of what a Republican is but on the other hand, I just can't handle the kind of vicious language that comes out of people like Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, etc.
Well, thanks for your response. I truly hope that the future in the Middle East will be positive and that the people of Iraq will soon be able to handle their own security and all our troops can come home.Thank YOU, Bob, for your sober and candid thoughts. You are a true Republican, a conservative in the original sense of that now-perverted word. May your son return home soon.