How to win hearts and minds abroad

Years ago, during the waning days of syndicated TV (sniff sniff), I watched Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda pretty regularly. Show creator Robert Hewitt Wolfe cut his teeth on my very favorite show of all time, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Anyhow, the show had real possibilities, except the idiot production company decided they wanted to attract channel surfers and not build a long-time fan base. I'm not going to vent here, because even after I quit watching regularly, I still took part in Andromeda discussion boards and even wrote a handful of show-related filks. And yup, I met some kewl people online--some of whom were the show's writers and producers.

Among the DROM staff was Ethlie Ann Vare, a versatile writer, journalist, and TV producer. AND she's a fellow redhead to boot.

After the horror of 9/11, Ms. Vare wrote this essay. It's worth reading, if only to remember that the US government had an opportunity for healing and progress, and they utterly squandered it--with the support of too many Americans. Come January 20, 2009, we should seek opportunities for a new way forward.

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