there is a specter haunting [cynthia in] europe. (and no, this isn’t a spooky halloween tale, although that sounds like a nice idea) more and more, the longer i live outside of the united states, i am noticing a great widening divide. the divide between my political views and that of my family or other people i know. the divide between lifestyles that i consider excessive and that of so many other countries in the world. i have been feeling an increasing amount of animosity between those urban dwellers who live in a rapidly gentrifying area full of micro-breweries, yoga studios, hip new pubs, etc. alex and i had a…