Johann Christoph Arnold writes:

I will never forget how by the end of the meeting, [Ratzinger] had tears in his eyes, and how he encouraged us with words of love and reconciliation: “When hatred can be overcome and forgiveness be given, that is the work of the Holy Spirit. Then we know that we are in Christ.” It is just this message that the world needs today. [...] The press has been quick to characterize Ratzinger as an inflexible and mean-spirited theologian, but I know him to be different.

I have been guilty of judging the man based on the partial knowledge advanced by the media; Arnold's reflection reminds us that at bottom all people hold at least one value in common: the desire to do what is right. Affirming this and holding it constantly in mind is important for keeping the way open for positive transformation.

It's okay for us to have a fundamental difference of oppinion on this. I'm not trying to sidestep or insult your intelligence, but I don't think you know anything about Triangle; this town may not be a bustling metropolis, but the coridor I'm in is right up against the belly of the beast. Will my endeavors warrant wiretaps from the CIA or get heads turning at the Pentagon (both of which are headquartered within fifteen miles)? Probably not. But that isn't the long-term goal.

The long-term goal is not to stage a monumental protest and to get famous; it is to foster a revolution of values & to create a culture of peace. You're right to demand more YCs and MLKs and Gandhis, but if you want more of those guys, somebody has to be raising them up in every neighborhood and backwater.

I live in a heavily military community where a child is three times more likely to be murdered by a parent than elsewhere. There is a lot of pressure on the people who are my neighbors. Someone has to help communities like this develop skills in positive nonviolent social change.

Gandhi, MLK, and Yeshua all began their work in the backwater becuase that's where the people live who are most debased by the powers that be.

I appreciate your desire to take it to the next level, and the next, but if you're seriously interested in improving our practices, you should come and see what we do. Any peace-realted web site looks pretentious if the only thing they do is make grand claims on the internet, and if that's all we do, we'd deserve your diatribe, but that's imposible to judge from where you are. We're in the DC Metro area, and you're invited to visit us any time you're in the neighborhood.

Alternately, you can assess our projects as failures and get on with taking it to the next level in your community. If disgust about our nerdy presentation moves you to show us how it's done, I'm happy with that.

Don't have time for more now. Warm regards! I have sincerely enjoyed your messages. Your writing and sense of humor are very distinctive.

Thanks, David! After all the complexity and convolution of THE SILENT PULSE brought that project to a standstill, I was eager to create a comic that a "normal person" could understand and enjoy. The story is something that I've been developing with the creative inquisition of my daughter at bedtime, and we have been having a lot of fun with it!

The spiral format was inspired by a book I've been reading about the golden ratio, and as you will soon see, it has something to do with the plot as well. I've been struggling with some kind of illness for about a week now, and I have actually been afflicted with a handful of mathematical/golden ratio nightmares.

When the idea came to me, I did remember McCloud's remark that his panels in THE RIGHT NUMBER were juxtaposed along the "z-axis." The spiral is one alternative that combines x, y, and z juxtopositions.

THE SILENT PULSE taught me a lot, and maybe I'll complete it one day. I think the most important lesson, though, was the value of simplicity.

Thanks again for looking it over!