Dear Diva:

Had never expected to be able to track down where that "Obituary" came from but accidentally came across it. I wanted to thank you for this beautifully written piece. I printed it out and have passed it along to others. I cannot read it without tears rolling down my face. It says so much that many of us are unable to put into words. I would like to see this published in every conceivable place to remind folks of what we have lost.

Do you think there is any hope of reviving Democracy or have the efforts and attitudes of her enemies become too deeply entrenched? I feel so helpless and frustrated as an individual at attempts to make myself heard as a "voice crying in the wilderness". Where can we go from here? What part can we play?

I am a senior citizen, living if Florida, in failing health, and financially restricted, and know that I must leave most of the battle to those more robust and vigorous, but I wish you to know that my admiration and heart are with you in this "battle".

Thank you again!
Valderine

Dear Valderine:

Thanks so much for your wonderful letter.  You can't know how much it means to me to know that something, anything, I have written has touched people, and moved them.

Like you, my heart has been broken over and over again by the election aftermath and its outcome.  I was in a very dark place when I wrote Democracy's Obituary.  In my mind's eye, I saw her as a gentle young woman, being torn at by a mob of violent animals in the heat of bloodlust.  My frustration was that I couldn't imagine anyone coming to her rescue.

Since then, I have received many wonderful letters from people who feel as strongly as you and I do.  It is my hope that we will gather together, marshal our forces, and fight in whatever way we can.  I believe people can work miracles, and that is what I think this is going to take.  It is my intent that this site provide the resources and direction that will help make that miracle happen.

Yes, our opposition is powerful, wealthy, entrenched, and has the advantage of brute might.  But they lack one thing that you and I, and all our fellow-travelers, possess in spades…

You see, we are right, and they are wrong.  Nothing can change that.  Ever.

-The Diva

In the forties many German scientists had to travel to the United States to escape Nazi Germany. It was necessary for some to get citizenship papers. Understandably, they were worried about the question "can it happen here?"

Swinton has discovered this detail on a page called : "With Gödel in Mind" on the University of Pennsylvania site:

"Shortly after the publication of his landmark paper, which established his international reputation in mathematics, he [Gödel] was invited to Princeton in 1940 to join the Institute of Advanced Study. According to Princeton legend, for his oral examination for U.S. citizenship, Gödel studied The Constitution intensely, as if it were a document of theoretical logic. Just before the interview, Gödel confided to his friend Albert Einstein that he had discovered that it was logically possible within the limits of the Constitution for the United States to be turned into a dictatorship. Einstein wisely advised Gödel not to mention this 'discovery' at his citizenship interview."

-Phillip Cheng, M.D., University of Pennsylvania Entropy Site