I'm sitting in my favorite Peet's Coffee in uptown San Diego --yes, I temporarily inhabit one of the most conservative, pro-military, gung-ho-Iraq-War areas of the entire nation, homeport to the Pacific fleet and how many (?) of the aircraft carriers currently plying the waters of the Persian Gulf-- when this guy at an adjoining table suddenly interrupts my online reverie, "Hey, do you know how you find 1510?"

1510...? What the hell is he talking about?

The guy, blank-faced, 20-something and blond, attired in the neighborhood's prerequisite jeans and tight T-shirt, is pawing through a pile of discarded newspapers next to him on the bench. "1510," he says. "Astrology. Where do I find it?" He extends a section of the paper to me--the classifieds.

Light dawns. He's looking for his horoscope, but doesn't understand the distinction between the classified section and the rest of the paper. 1510 is Astrology's classified header. I explain--he gets it right away. I don't think he's dumb, exactly, just woefully ignorant.

He happily trots off with his daily horoscope and I wonder, how many of him are there out there? Never read a newspaper, get their news from Fox, couldn't find Iraq on a map to save their lives, get confused about Iran and Iraq --Aren't they the same country?-- think Hussein was behind 9/11, are convinced the loss of civilian life in this war has been small, and would say yes, Yes! President Bush is doing an outstanding job and if he wants to extend the war to Syria or Iran or Where-Ever, well, right-on!

My god, I am so sick of the widespread, willful ignorance in this country that perpetuates military adventurism and slaughter!

One of the upscale gay bars in this neighborhood (it's San Diego's gay district) has a huge, huge American flag draping the entire outside facade of the bar. It must be 10 feet by 15 feet, in this day and age an incontrovertible expression of pro-military sentiment. And I just don't get it. The U.S. Armed Forces reject gays, they throw them out with dishonorable discharges for the mere fact of being born who they are, but that doesn't stop gay San Diegans from being overwhelmingly pro-military and, presumably --though I haven't tested this assumption-- pro-war. Isn't that a little like feminists rabidly supporting the Augusta National Golf Club? Only worse?