Introspection during the last year has led a few disenchanted Democrats to begin to blog; it certainly guided me to start daily rants at Howling Latina; and to that end, I recently wrote about the pesky question of spirit, chance, war, chaos, Bush and Iraq.

For people of faith, the topic of war and suffering is difficult to reconcile with a loving Higher Power. God allows bad things to happen, even Billy Graham acknowledged as much during an interview with Newsweek.

Yet even the most hardened agnostic cannot deny the sacred synchronicities in their lives – for good or ill – including the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.

If they're honest, the cynical nonbeliever must concede that in 2000 the universe aligned her planets against Gore. I mean, with a third party, left/center candidate, butterfly ballots, hanging chads, bad Gore press, what else could have gone wrong except a loss in spite of win?

Equal to task for John Kerry, 2004 had an ill-wind union with a frightened nation, supine media, baseless swiftboating and bin Laden's improviso right before election. A little bit of this and a little bit of that, a Gore or Kerry win, and the whole war business might’ve have been avoided or already concluded.

So what are we to make of this mess called the Bush presidency and his bastard child, Iraq? How will thousands of lost lives in Iraq bring about a greater good, if one believes that goodness ultimately prevails? And how will a Republican Congress, White House and now Supreme Court work together towards greater equality and social justice for all?

When I first wrote about the subject, I had no answer, only questions. Yet after reading Graham's words and writing about the soon-to-come third anniversary of the Iraqi War, I found my answer in both the sacred and secular.

First the sacred:

“Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives (Genesis 50:20).

And now the secular, accepted scientific theory:

In perfect symmetry, the universe incorporates atoms in time and space made of negative charges in the electron, which are then held together with positive charges in their nucleus.

Both schools of thought promise balance in the end; and so it stands to reason that everything we now decry in the Middle East and the Bush presidency will come to pass; and be offset by its dual beneficence.

Yes, the shock and awe we felt when we watched America march to war as if it were a Fourth of July procession with spectacular fireworks as a backdrop will eventually be neutralized by equally dazzling forces.

And along the way, we use our passion to the cause; fellow travelers in time and space, working to restore the universal equilibrium: PEACE.