-IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, AND NOT A "HISTORY BUFF" LIKE MR. CLARK, YOU MAY NOT RECALL WHAT HE WAS DOING AT THE TIME HE SENT THIS LETTER TO ME.
TO REMIND YOU...HE WAS RUNNING FOR THE LEADERSHIP OF THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE PARTY--WHICH, YOU MAY RECALL MORE READILY, HE LOST TO BRIAN MULRONEY.

...THIS, OBVIOUSLY, IS THE SOURCE, IN THE COURSE OF CONTINUING MY "INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC WORK...ON A DIRECT BASIS," OF MY FREQUENT QUOTATION OF THE TERM:

"(MY) PRESENT SITUATION."

(AND IT'S ALWAYS PUT IN QUOTATIONS, STRUCTURED WITH CORRECT GRAMMAR, BECAUSE THE SOURCE OF THIS SUMMATION OF (NOW) SOME 20 YEARS OF "INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC WORK...ON A DIRECT BASIS" AS A "SITUATION"...IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF THAT WORK.
THE AUTHOR CANNOT TAKE CREDIT FOR THIS ACCORDED RESPECT FOR THE WORK, ITS GOALS, AND THOSE WHO IN PAST HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY IT, AS WELL AS THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO BE AFFECTED BY IT.)

THIS IS ANOTHER MATTER THAT WILL ARISE IN MORE DETAIL ONCE THE FULL TEXTS OF THE STATEMENTS TO P.W. BOTHA AND LAWRENCE WALSH ARE AVAILABLE TO "ALL OF US"; BUT I SHOULD THINK BY NOW IT'S OBVIOUS THAT THE RECORD OF "HISTORY" AVAILABLE TO "ALL OF US" ABOUT CERTAIN CONTINUING PROBLEMS AFFECTING "ALL OF US" ARE...INADEQUATE, AND IN SOME CASES OUTRIGHT LIES.

I GENERALLY FEEL THAT IF INDIVIDUALS AND PARTIES ARE GOING TO TAKE CREDIT FOR POLICIES OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS--CONTENDING THEY SATISFY THE NEEDS OF PARTICULAR PROBLEMS--ER, THEY SHOULD BE GIVEN THE CREDIT THEY DESERVE.
SO, WHEN YOU FIND REPETITION OF CERTAIN QUOTATIONS IN THE COURSE OF EVALUATING THIS "INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC WORK...ON A DIRECT BASIS"--THIS IS AT THE ROOT OF MY REASONING.
IF YOU THINK THIS TERM 'SETS ME OFF,' WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THE STORY BEHIND "SOLIDARITY"--BOTH POLAND'S AND THE SUBSEQUENT ONE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA.

I WOULD ADD HERE THAT, I SUSPECT, IN MANY CASES SUCH IS ALL THAT CAN BE CREDITED TO THOSE PARTICULAR INDIVIDUALS AND/OR PARTIES IN RESPONSE TO SPECIFIC..."SITUATION(S)"...

THERE IS ANOTHER REASON I PUT REPEATED PHRASES IN QUOTATIONS. I AM NOT MUCH ONE FOR SOPHISM/SOPHISTRY. (AND TO SATISFY MY FELLOW ADMIRERS OF THE LATE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., WHEN I HAVE THE TIME I'LL PUT ONLINE THE TEXT OF MY APRIL 15, 1983 STATEMENT TO (THEN) PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA PIERRE E. TRUDEAU AND HIS EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER, ALLAN MacEACHEN. IT'S ABOUT SOPHISM/SOPHISTRY AND "ETHICS.")
SOMETIMES I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW I AGREE WITH THEIR "CONCERNS" ON BEHALF OF THOSE THEY REPRESENT. SO, I DO WHAT I CAN TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THEIR WORK.
WHEN PEOPLE ARE RIGHT...I THINK THEY SHOULD BE GIVEN RESPECT FOR BEING SO.
AND IF THEY'RE GENUINELY TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE: HOW CAN IT HURT TO HELP THAT SUCCEED?
ON THIS POINT, IF YOU'RE CURIOUS ABOUT "ALL OF US", TAKE A BRIEF SIDESTEP HERE..

AND, BEARING THAT IN MIND AND WHAT YOU FIND IF YOU TAKE A BRIEF SIDESTEP HERE, ON THE SUBJECT OF "SITUATION(S)", RECALL THAT SUSAN SONTAG, THE AMERICAN AUTHOR AND ESSAYIST, OBSERVED (I FOUND IT AT: http://www.cybernation.com/victory/quotations/authors/quotes_sontag_susan.html) THAT:

"Boredom is just the reverse side of fascination: both depend on being outside rather than inside a situation, and one leads to the other."

I ADD THESE ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS (SHOULD VISITORS TO THE PAGE PRIOR TO THE AUGUST 19, 2000 UPDATE SUBSEQUENTLY NOTICE THE DIFFERENCES) BECAUSE OF THE UPDATE TO WHAT YOU FIND IF YOU TAKE A BRIEF SIDESTEP HERE...WHICH LINKS TO A PLEA FROM MS. SONTAG THAT BRINGS TO MY MIND, IN REFERENCE TO THE CONTENTS HERE/THIS "CONTEXT", OF THAT SOPHISM/SOPHISTRY:

"PUT UP OR SHUT UP."

...I PREFER TO PUT UP WHAT YOU SEE HERE AT THIS AWARD-WINNING WEBSITE.

BACK TO THE REST OF THE STORY OF WHAT THE NEW DEMOCRATS DIDN'T TELL "ALL OF US" BEFORE THE 1992 CANADIAN CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM?
TAKE YOUR NEXT FOOTSTEP HERE.