Below is a passionate letter from Bronwyn Hinz, sent to the Canberra Times on the election result. Hinz covers the issues, the values lost, and the despair we all feel. She also represents the quintessential bleeding heart. As another letter writer, Ruth Martin, in The Age, writes:

If Christ were to return today, no doubt he would be reviled as a loony, feral, do-gooding, bleeding-heart leftie.

It was with shock and disbelief that I first read the election results. I hadn't been present for the election campaign. When I boarded the plane for my new life in Europe I was convinced that Labor was going to win. That the slow pervasion and weakening of Australian institutions - the High Court, the Industrial relations tribunal, our Federal system of government- would be halted. Would be corrected. That justice would be restored at last to the education system, to the health system. That the weak, the poor, the marginalised would have their rightful opportunities restored to them. That the increasing gulf between the rich and the poor could be minimised. That security could be restored to the Australian workplace, the rights for the most vulnerable would be restored. That the desperate, tortured refugees would finally find the compassion they need and deserve in policy and amongst the community. That the Government would finally acknowledge the terrible crimes it committed against Indigenous Australians. Would apologise. Would attempt reconciliation. That Australian community would experience a renaissance. That self-interest would be replaced, even slightly, by community interest. That concern for the unemployed or the disenfranchised would for a few seconds replace concerns about investments, renovation plans or Australian Idol. More...

It is just possible that a significant number of Aussies who voted for the Coalition last week are not as dumb as we think. Maybe they weren't duped. Maybe they really believe in John Howard's twisted worldview. From the hate mail us lefties have been getting, the concentration-camp-Kapo-sounding letters to the editors, and the triumphalistic gloating of the right wing commentariat, one could conclude that they knew exactly what they were doing. Which shows just how successful Magoosolini has been at uncovering the rocks wherein his core supporters creep and crawl in bloodless malevolence. They no doubt agree with their brethren in South Africa who appear to yearn for someone to Heil.

South Africa's state broadcaster was forced to scrap its Great South Africans television series after viewers chose white supremacists, convicted fraudsters and cheating sportsmen for the top 100 places.

The poll of national heroes placed apartheid villains and a cricket captain who fixed matches ahead of black freedom fighters and Nobel laureates.

The last straw was the selection of Hendrik Verwoerd, the prime minister who built apartheid, in 19th place, and Eugene Terreblanche, the confessed racist imprisoned for attempted murder, in 25th.

The following, by one-in-a-squillion billionaire George Soros, is perhaps the one message that should get through to every American. Two-thirds of the rest of the world want Bush the village idiot out of office. That the race between Bush and Kerry is even remotely close is cause for grave concern about the psychological state of that country. If there were indeed a God, It would send down Its angels in white coats for each and every Bush supporter and transport them to larval heaven.

President Bush is endangering our safety, hurting our vital interests and undermining American values. If we re-elect him now, we endorse the Bush doctrine of preemptive action and the invasion of Iraq, and we will have to live with the consequences.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, required a strong response. But they also led to suspension of the critical process so essential to a democracy: a full and fair discussion of the issues.

Bush silenced criticism by calling it unpatriotic. For 18 months after September 11, he managed to suppress all dissent. That is how he led the US in the wrong direction.

His campaign assumes that people do not really care about the truth and will believe almost anything if it is repeated often enough. There must be something wrong with Americans if we fall for it.

The war in Iraq was misconceived from start to finish -- if it has a finish. It is a war of choice, not necessity. Moreover, the US went to war on false pretences. Weapons of mass destruction could not be found, and the connection with al-Qa'ida could not be established. Bush then claimed the US went to war to liberate Iraq. But democracy cannot be imposed by force.

...this is Bush's war, and he ought to be held responsible for it. Americans should step back for a moment and ask: who got them into this mess?