Sometimes, things happen to remind you of the goodness in (not of) humanity.  There are people in the world who turn tragedies in their lives into a force for goodness and peace.  That is Alice Hoglan.  I met her today (we taped a TV program in San Jose); she had lost her son on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania on September 11, and has been working for good causes ever since.  I also heard from an American novelist who is incorporating Middle East themes into his forthcoming novel, and is eager to maintain high standards of cultural sensitivity.  I may be angry (politically speaking), but I am not in despair.