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If I had to pick any one thing that guided my political beliefs, that thing would be Jesse Helms. Growing up with him as my senator, I started to become amazed at the mental hoops people would jump through to vote for him. My first vote ever was for Harvey Gantt, who ran against him (and lost by .5%, fueled by a last minute racist mailing that told blacks they probably weren't eligible to vote).
My favorite response from a Jesse voter, after I said there were many speeches and recordings of Jesse from his days as a radio man that well documented his hatred for the mixing of the races, they answered, "yeah, but he's moderated his views alot."
And now, he's helping Bono fight hunger in Africa. Go figure.
But I pretty much decided I was against whatever he was for.
Plus being bookish, I read Upton Sinclair and Sinclair Lewis. They were pretty much in the liberal to Bolshevik spectrum.
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I think the Apocalypse is happening all around us. We go on eating desserts and watching TV. I know I do. I wish we were more capable of sustained passion and sustained resistance. We should be screaming and what we do is gossip. -Lydia Millet
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