No Idea Is Ever Dead

America Is A Nation With Many Flaws, But Hopes So Vast That Only The Cowardly Would Refuse To Acknowledge Them.

I Had Learned Volleyball In The Navy, Where All The Captains And Admirals Wanted To Be Spikers, And I Found Then That A Man Who Can Subdue His Own Desires And Master The Art Of Serving Others Can Make Himself Invaluable. In Choosing Sides The Team Captain Always Chose The Good Spikers On The First And Second Choice, But Then The Spikers Would Grab His Arm And Whisper, 'take Michener.' I Was Never Chosen Lower Than Third, Because I Was Needed. I Wasn't Good, But I Was Faithful.

The Rules Seem To Be These: If You Have Written A Successful Novel, Everyone Invites You To Write Short Stories. If You Have Written Some Good Short Stories, Everyone Wants You To Write A Novel. But Nobody Wants Anything Until You Have Already Proved Yourself By Being Published Somewhere Else.

I Kept Careful Record Of The Impact Of Religion On The Election In My County. The Religious Issue Permeated Every Meeting I Conducted. It Influenced Republicans And Democrats Alike. Ministers Preached Politics Publicly And Churches Distributed The Most Vicious Electioneering Materials. Practically No One I Met Escaped The Pressure Of This Overriding Problem And Both Parties Were Ultimately Forced To Make Their Major Calculations With The Religious Question A Foremost Consideration.

I Am Terrified Of Restrictive Religious Doctrine, Having Learned From History That When Men Who Adhere To Any Form Of It Are In Control, Common Men Like Me Are In Peril.