Vermont

I had the pleasure to visit America over the weekend.

It’s not that where I live is not America, but this place was an America that I remember thinking existed when I was in school. An America where people listened to other opinions. An America where every voice has equal value and volume in expression and understanding. An America where different considerations were weighed with courtesy and questioned with intellect, not politics.

I was thrilled with my visit to this near and distant place. There were discussions about, Trump and Hillary and Bernie. There were discourses on how modern controlled education is inhibiting and parental participation in the learning process can be productive for the betterment of all. Everyone at their town meetings has the right to speak.

That was the America I remember as a child, but today, too often, I wonder where it went. An America where inclusion is valued as much as the sacredness of an individual vote and dissension is honored as an equal sacredness in the discernment of choice. People listen with thought and then decide; they do not shout and denounce in ignorance. 

I met and laughed with the people who live in this place; they live healthy lives as parents, grandparents and self-less volunteers in their community. They were educated and sophisticated without ostentation, and they were astute, erudite and firm in the principles of democracy. 

Thank you VERMONT for the experience.