The other thing the woman I mentioned yesterday got wrong is insisting that all violence is inherently evil.  That’s just a silly idea and one I hope she discards as she gets older.  It’s nice to think about a world with no violence, but like it or not violence is a part of life.  At least today.  There is a difference, though, between initiating violence and giving a measured response to the unprovoked use of violence.  I, for example, am not a violent person.  I would never consider initiating the use of force for my own benefit.  However, if I or somebody I care about is attacked, I will respond, and I will thank those people who taught me how.  I suspect that even my friend’s clueless liberal wife would thank me were I to come to her aid.

On another note, we drove home today with the bike in the trunk of the car.  We covered the same 342 miles that it took me three days to pedal in about six hours, including stops.