Rhinelander - heartland of conservative America

I wish I could write that these are fake, but the photos are true. I bought the pins (5 Dollars) at the Rhinelander County Fair, at the Republican Party's booth (there was no Democratic equivalent). I suppose that makes me a contributor to the Republican Party...

The lady who sold them to me said, "you chose the best ones!". You would think that she was spitting fire from her mouth, and rolling her eyes as if possessed, or biting her nails in despair, or jumping up and down in anger, or doing a mad dance of sorts, but no, this lady was soft-spoken and neatly dressed, with beautiful white hair, blue eyes full of longing, and a nice, if supercilious, smile on her lips. That's the thing that disconcerts me every time I meet rabidly intolerant conservatives, they are just like you and me. That's scary don't you think?

Now, our friend Becky, who does not espouse the views expressed in these pins, told me to make sure to say that this is not how all Americans think. But a few do. Too many for my taste, if you ask me. Do they also think that we "liberals" are just like them? Do they also feel disconcerted by how kindly, how nicely we look and behave? Does that make them think twice, when they say that my family is not a real family, and that our love is not real love? Or do they look at us and fail to see the humanity inside, and couldn't wait for the moment to aim and get a good shot?

You know what gives me hope? One of the nice ladies selling these pins at the booth, had hosted four AFS exchange students before; from Brazil, the Philippines, Costa Rica and Italy. She spoke of them with fondness. She had even tried to learn Portuguese. I was an AFS exchange student myself. AFS (American Field Service), stands for tolerance, intercultural learning, peace and understanding. That's why for more than 50 years it has been promoting high-school student exchanges around the globe. Because if we get to know each other we will come to the realisation that our dreams and frustrations are very much the same, and that together we have a better chance of achieving the former and overcoming the latter. AFS is an original American institution. It started here, and it now belongs to and in the world.

If you really want to know the truth, AFS saved my life, in the sense that it gave it a much greater meaning and a direction. I wouldn't be in this "place" today had it not been for AFS and my student exchange year in Belgium, and all the wonderful kids and adults I met along the way. So, as I talked to that lady about our common AFS experience, I saw hope for a world of more tolerance, less extremism, more union and less division. And her smile was really nice, there is no doubt about that.

(L)