The last time I watched a James Bond movie, I noticed the difference. In the old days, James would defeat his opponent by outwitting him. Yes, there was some gunplay, but James would use his intelligence and his ingenious little gadgets to achieve his ends. These days, James is quite forceful. If he wants the enemy to move, he just sticks a gun to the man's jugular and tells him to move.

Art imitates life.

I love my country. I love what we're about. I love the concept of our government, a republic, and I love to vote, even when pickings are slim. I love to be able to dissent without fear of repercussion. I love the land itself; the great curve of it from sea to sea. I love her history, which is quite amazing, and full of courageous individuals who believed in something bigger than themselves. I love all the people who knock themselves out for their neighbors. Mostly I just love being here, in my little community, with my family and friends and my class of little American citizens.

But I don't love where we are heading right now, because we are bigger than this. We are bigger than the greed for oil and the thirst for avenging a heinous crime. There are other means to achieve our ends, and we are big enough and moral enough to go about this in an ethical way. We don't have to put the hammer down to drive home our point. There are international courts and organizations willing to work on the problems we face. We do have time to come up with nonviolent solutions. I know it as surely as I know the sound of my son's voice, the curve of my daughter's cheek. We are bigger than this.

p.s. a thank you to barbara kingsolver for her voice and her courage on these issues. i'm inspired.