In the comments section of CREDO, Marcella said:

      You say you aren't political? You could have fooled me. You live, 

      write and create art that speaks your politics Keith. Go with your 

      feelings. The only people you will offend are the people who need 

      to be offended. 

Well, I'm flattered by Marcella and Rachel's comments, but now I'm also forced into the "no, I'm serious" position.

No, I'm serious.

Governments, states, political entities... There are people who can see the world in terms of organized social forces (it's one of the things I noticed about Laura Lippman's EVERY SECRET THING, for example, which makes sense, since she's a journalist), and then there are people who'd like to, but it just doesn't work.

That would be me. All I see are people, either making sense or not.

If I were political, I'd be doing something about George Bush being dangerous and immoral, or some policy or other not making sense. That would be a political thing to talk about, a specific one, but I just don't have the right nature for it.

I'm more interested in core principles than individual manifestations. I figure if you can really nail the former, the latter takes care of itself. People start to see their own examples if you can just describe the principle clearly enough.

Given a striking story of political hypocrisy, I tune out the political part but get really interested in the nature of hypocrisy; it's like a six-year-old who starts talking the minute the traffic report comes on the car radio: All the grownups get really interested at precisely the moment the kid loses all interest whatsoever.

But kids also have a good BS detector. So I'd rather make a strong statement about people using God as an excuse for violence--and let individual consciences supply the precise target.

After all, if you didn't order anybody's death, it's not about you, right?

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