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Hey, mlmr,

Just wanted to tell you that I commiserate with you, as many others here obviously do too.

I had a very dear, very bright, old friend from way back in our elementary school and high school years, who I had lost touch with for over 30 years (we are both "baby boomers"), but we fortuitously got in touch with each other again (through email) after all those years, and have corresponded through email for a number of years now, and rekindled our long-dormant friendship. She is an American who now lives in a country which was formerly part of the Soviet Union (in the Baltic region), and she is an avid anti-war pacifist, with vastly different views from my own now on religion and politics and other issues, but until this election season, we've somehow managed to overlook our differences, and stay in touch and maintain our long-distance friendship.

Before this election, we did have some political and religious discussions, sometimes a little too overheated and admittedly a bit too harsh on both our parts, and after Kerry's defeat, she emailed me a copy of an article by a Canadian writer who, among other things, credited the re-election of President Bush to the many "paranoid crazies" who voted for Bush (implying that I was one of those "paranoid crazies"). When I tried to respond to that insulting email she sent me, I found that my emails were automatically rejected and deleted by her newly modified email setup, and a nasty message was returned to me which informed me of the "block" she had put on my email address so that I could no longer email her, and the automatic blocking message she returned contained a little insulting dig at me as well.

We've not had any additional contact since that time.

She is obviously now sort of an anti-American, anti-Israel, pro-European, pro-Muslim, pro-socialist, and pro-Michael Moore "ex-hippie", still sort of stuck in the 60's (like the comedian "Gallagher"), trying to reprise the antiwar efforts that arose during the war in Vietnam, when we were both very young. She even sympathizes with the terrorists who hate America, and who have killed many innocent human beings for that reason, and feels they have some good, valid reasons to have done so. Needless to say, I've argued with her very strongly about these issues.

In the past, she has always tried to portray an external persona of herself as a "loving", "peaceful", "tolerant", "kind", "open-minded" person. However, it now appears to me that she has finally revealed herself (after all these years) to really be quite a phony, bigoted, intolerant person towards others who happen to disagree with her point of view, and that she is really kind of cold, callous, and heartless about the cruel torture and mass murders committed by such people as the barbaric tyrant, Saddam Hussein, just as many other liberals have revealed about themselves recently. She does not appear any more to me to be a loving, peaceful, tolerant, kind, compassionate, decent, respectful, "diversity-admiring" person. Sadly, she now appears to be just the exact opposite of all those things.

I, like you, am very disillusioned, sad, shocked, dismayed, and quite disheartened at this turn of events, and by what I consider a betrayal of the trust of an old friendship, and even the actual loss of that friendship forever, which I had always thought transcended our differing viewpoints and perspectives. For some reason, this election apparently forced the "real" person inside many of these liberals to surface, and the vitriolic hatred and intolerance they felt inside to come blasting forth at their "enemies", who simply sought to preserve the safety and freedom of America by supporting a candidate who has already proved he is willing to really do something real to combat terrorism, and to fight evil tyrants who deliberately murdered hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings.

I understand how you feel, and I feel for you too. It is a wrenching experience to have a "friend" brutally attack you (in a spiritual sense) in such a way. However, as someone else suggested in this thread earlier, it appears you are not really "friendless" -- you have many friends right here, who fully respect you and your values, and who (I'm sure) would never turn on you and viciously abandon your long-time friendship like that person you spoke of apparently has.

You have my heartfelt "condolences" and my best wishes for your future, that you will find truly faithful new friends who will never turn on you or abandon you, just because of your divergent beliefs.

Except for the country of current domicile, your friend could be my friend. I have watched her for many years stay in the same fifteen year old anger at the Viet Nam war. She hasnt changed and iota.

Dear Ones,

This has been one of the most thoughtful and insightful threads I have ever read. It is one thing to read the hate filled rants coming from the left, but to experience the dissolution of relationships that have gone on for decades is soooo very sad. It is tolerance that pubbies have offered, however, radical dems want total acceptance, which can't be achieved and it just drives them crackers. Ironically, tolerance is what they profess, unfortunately, they don't seem to have it in them when the shoe (or Presidency) is on the other foot.

To each of you who has lost a dear friend, you have my sincere compassion. It does hurt. But remember, you are right and they are only showing their true colors.

Imagine being the family of those who have publicly denounced entire families relationships because their families live in the "red" states? That would hurt.

Sincerely,

Tess