Here are three letters written to two voting activists but which have relevance to activists everywhere. Take note and take heart. We ARE making progress. You ARE making a difference! Anyone else want to chime in? There's no such thing as too much moral support!

::::::::

Letter #1: To Kathy and Jonathan I'm sorry this is so tough for both of you. I read your exchanges (below) and both of you are suffering from burn out in a nutshell: exacerbated by just how difficult it is to fight when those you are fighting and those you are fighting to persuade can't hear. The burnout you can try to get a handle on, as we all try to do by gaining balance which we all know is really hard. The feelings of being battered by society is part of the price unfortunately and I suppose you can take some comfort in knowing how many others are subjected to being ridiculed, ostracized, marginalized- it's a reflection of how powerful that which you're trying to get others to understand really is. It's not supposed to be easy or quick and never has been. "One of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the great struggle for independence." --Charles Austin Beard It can't be that you really feel, as both of you talk about, that you can't do this if the establishment --be it the media or members of the Congress or various citizens or colleagues-- can't recognize the correctness of your position (that's the burn out talking). Your effectiveness and the devastating reality of the truth you are sounding is what is causing the backlash you are experiencing as the frustration that makes you want to quit. If you weren't sounding the alarm as poignantly as you are- you'd be better rewarded for your efforts by the MSM or certain elected officials. You'd be easily allowed into the club, along with the others who have sugar coated and compromised the truth. And while 2 years of one's life feels like forever, it's a relatively short time historically in terms of the struggle against those who would dominate us. White middle class people aren't used to not being heard. We believe the myth that we have power. We believe in We the People. We too are having trouble accepting the truth- that all of us are expendable to the kind of government which has taken power. It's for those of us, who see clearly, to convince enough of the other 99% of us who are not part of the top 1% owners of the resources and the power. And in that regard we are actually making progress. Remember when we first started talking about this 2 and 3 years ago- we were ridiculed. Now we're violently opposed in some circles. That's actually progress in terms of the three stages of truth: "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer German philosopher (1788 - 1860) In many ways we've even passed into the third stage of truth-- the acceptance as being self evident--to the extent that one can talk about electronic "vulnerabilities" and theft and probably at least hundreds of thousands now accept this, which was certainly not the case even a year ago. We all know this based on personal experience-- think about those who wouldn't listen a year or so ago to the evidence of the thousands of "glitches" all in favor of. While many of those people haven't taken the next step of assuming the work required to make a difference, they at least take in the information now without ridiculing you. I know when Steve Freeman did the exit polls in Pa. this year and we went around to the precincts to see how it was going on election day- regular people were more than happy to take the time to answer the students' questions and complete the exit polling-- because they'd accepted that oversight was desperately needed. I don't believe 2 years ago they would have been as receptive as they were. And these were just regular people-- not progressives, or democrats or republicans --just random people who had gotten a bit of the truth-- not knowing it's because of people like you that the truth is being exposed. The establishment press, like the Congress, is well behind the people and desperately struggling to hold onto their power- they will be the last ones to accept this and those who do: the journalists, reporters, still have to deal with their bosses. We have to keep pushing and awakening one by one those within the media and Congress who are slow to truth but capable eventually of hearing. The three stages of truth makes sense. Human beings, who have spent their lives believing in something -- don't just give it up overnight. I had a friend tell me not too long ago-- I hear you (about election fraud), but if I let myself accept what you're telling me, I'd explode. Our comfort level with accepting the corruption that would permit this much of a threat to our democracy varies and takes that much longer to seep in for most. People feel threatened and don't want to know. How many people have said to all of us-- how can what you're saying be true-- "they'd" never permit voting machines to be sold that were that inferior or that vulnerable. Most people (at least the white middle class) believe that government still protects them even as they don't trust government. But gradually, despite the discomfort having to reject paradigm they've spent their lives believing, many of them are starting to get it. It is typically the fewest among us who have the courage or strength of character to take the action you' two have taken, precisely because of the backlash caused by the majority who are terrified by having to abandon certain beliefs. Like any dysfunctional family that doesn't want to change when the truth is put before them, the mechanisms which go into place to prevent the truth from rising are strong. Those who have the courage to speak truth often pay a high price. Professor Stephen Jones, a respected physicist, has been suspended from Brigham Young University (or forced to retire I hear) for telling the truth about the collapse of the Trade Towers. That's just one eg. that popped into my head-- there are hundreds today and yesterday and in history. Think of all the whistleblowers you've known about. None of them chose the ridicule and attacks. But the essence of being human I believe---the part which defines my sense of humanity-- is not defined by the response of others. Being human requires that we speak truth to power. It requires that we fight to change what we see as corrupt and destructive, regardless of whether we can recognize the benefits of our efforts as truth passes through those three stages. Five hundred years ago people who suggested the earth was not flat were burnt at the stake. That the world is round is of course now accepted as self-evident. Please don't give up. Some of us can work to organize people -- to raise consciousness. Some of us can maintain great web sites and make sure the information is available to anyone who will read it. Some of us become radio interviewers. We find ways to be the media because we know the American establishment media won't. But you are the only ones who can make sure we have the proof; the evidence. If you stop doing what you do we won't have what we need to bring the truth to more and more people as they pass through the ridicule stage and then pass through the violently oppose stage and move to accepting the truth about electronic voting machines and the mind blowing level of theft, as self evident. Thank you for what you do-- you are indispensable in this struggle. andi novick Northeast Citizens for Responsible Media _www.re-media.org_ (http://www.re-media.org) *** Letter #2: Kathy and Jonathan, I heartily concur with the sentiments that Andi so eloquently expressed in this e-mail. Were it not for people like you, I could have easily been misled by the leadership of the National Federation of the Blind. Without the efforts of you and others in the movement I might not have come to the realization that access is meaningless unless it can be backed up with a real, verifiable paper ballot. I sincerely hope that you can get enough funding to keep body, soul and mind together. It is easy to tell others not to give up, and I know it's hard out there. I hope you don't have to quit, and I, as a voter, sincerely thank you for your efforts. Suzanne **** Letter #3 Dear Kathy and Jonathon, and all the rest of you top election activists, Let me add to Suzanne's expression of gratitude, and that of the previous, eloquent writer, Andi Novick. Regardless of what personal choice you make about whether to continue this work, or back off a bit, or take a break, or take a different tack to social change, know this: You have already made a huge difference and time WILL bear you out. The truth always has a way of coming out. Already, I sense that the issue of fraudulent elections has become more and more accepted by millions of Americans. Momentum is building. And of course it has been very hard for the masses to acknowledge, esp. when the MSM does not and we all want to think things are basically hunky dory. It's painful to see our most cherished images destroyed. May I suggest that you take some time to recharge, to reconnect with your inner calm and to ask yourself from that place what to do? You have already done far, far more than most people to serve our country. I hope that you keep on keeping on in this arena. But if you do not, I understand. We each are called to focus on different things at different points in our journeys. And when one passes on the baton, there is usually another to pick it up. Whatever path you take, know that this country is forever indebted to you and others who have stood at the forefront of protecting our most precious of all rights-- the right to vote and thus to share power in a just and loving way. I am sure that in the long run, this is the cause that will prevail. There are always forces of tyranny seeking to undermine it, but we WILL prevail. All blessings to each one working for what is right and what is good. "May the long time sun shine upon you. May all Love surround you. May the pure Light within you guide your way on." -traditional Irish blessing ------------ S. P. Sedona, AZ

Authors Website: http://www.opednews.com/author/author79.html

Authors Bio:

Joan Brunwasser is a co-founder of Citizens for Election Reform (CER) which since 2005 existed for the sole purpose of raising the public awareness of the critical need for election reform. Our goal: to restore fair, accurate, transparent, secure elections where votes are cast in private and counted in public. Because the problems with electronic (computerized) voting systems include a lack of transparency and the ability to accurately check and authenticate the vote cast, these systems can alter election results and therefore are simply antithetical to democratic principles and functioning.



Since the pivotal 2004 Presidential election, Joan has come to see the connection between a broken election system, a dysfunctional, corporate media and a total lack of campaign finance reform. This has led her to enlarge the parameters of her writing to include interviews with whistle-blowers and articulate others who give a view quite different from that presented by the mainstream media. She also turns the spotlight on activists and ordinary folks who are striving to make a difference, to clean up and improve their corner of the world. By focusing on these intrepid individuals, she gives hope and inspiration to those who might otherwise be turned off and alienated. She also interviews people in the arts in all their variations - authors, journalists, filmmakers, actors, playwrights, and artists. Why? The bottom line: without art and inspiration, we lose one of the best parts of ourselves. And we're all in this together. If Joan can keep even one of her fellow citizens going another day, she considers her job well done.


When Joan hit one million page views, OEN Managing Editor, Meryl Ann Butler interviewed her, turning interviewer briefly into interviewee. Read the interview here.

While the news is often quite depressing, Joan nevertheless strives to maintain her mantra: "Grab life now in an exuberant embrace!"


Joan has been Election Integrity Editor for OpEdNews since December, 2005. Her articles also appear at Huffington Post, RepublicMedia.TV and Scoop.co.nz.