Day 4. My political savvy only slightly exceeds my technological savvy, mainly because I tune into MSNBC on occasion. Weeks ago I heard Keith Olbermann's (his show Countdown comes on in the evenings) impassioned plea about health care reform, and I was moved. Last night he treated his audience to a foretaste of democracy's demise due to the Supreme Court's new ruling about corporations funding political campaigns. And I was depressed.  

Afterwards I watched Nova on PBS about the Sphinx. In spite of over 4000 years worth of sand blasted erosion, with many features worn away, it still persists. Not by magic, coincidence, or by the undoubted prowess of its creators. Subsequent civilizations saw the value of it and sought its preservation. After a thousand years of neglect, a king in Egypt's 18th dynasty revamped it. Later Greeks and Romans added stone blocks to negate the crumbling effects of time. The work goes on.

So to lull my throbbing head to sleep, I consoled myself with the thought that life continues. Our way of life may change (it always does anyway, doesn't it?). Likewise our form of government. Maybe the torch (or flicker) of democracy will be carried into the future by even-tempered Scandinavians. Back home in America, attempts to shore up a crumbling democracy will be made. The result will be something different than what it used to be. But it still may be something special to see.