Stephan:   I include this story because you have probably heard about Glenn Beck's attack on philanthropist George Soros. I consider Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh to be personifications of America's shadow. They articulate the fear, hate, and rage about the changes in our culture, the movement to a majority non-white population; the push back of formerly subjugated groups such as women, and gays; and, the rising multi-polar nature of the world. The fact that they have millions who hang on their every word, I think, is one of the most disturbing trends in America today -- a neon lit example of where willful ignorance takes one. In the interest of full disclosure I should say that I met George Soros twice back in the 1980s, when I was involved with citizen diplomacy and the Esalen Soviet-American Project. I was struck at the time with his incredible integrity and commitment to democracy. When no one else would help he put millions of dollars on the line to help Russia and the Republics find their way out of the Soviet labyrinth peacefully, so that no threat to world peace came from that quarter, as it quite easily might have done. Few knew about this, and fewer yet understood how important it was. In the subsequent years I have had occasional contacts with Soros' staff and, each time, my sense of their integrity and purpose was renewed.