This is when that old phrase "the personal is political" and so the political must also be personal comes into play. No matter where you turn there are lessons in freedom of speech, the health of the and wealth of a global community and when a local economy can be altered in an instant with the departure or arrival of industry.
I firmly believe that each and every citizen should exercise the sometimes hard won right to vote. There are three homes on this family farm turned compound and each home has a different political mix. I am not sure what my parents intended as we grew up but time with family friends meant spirited discussions with many points of view. Recently I remembered a moment I had at my mother's knee...literally, her knee. The neighborhood women were having a spirited discussion over coffee about the politics of the day. I preferred the company of adults at the moment so I sat under the table at my mother's feet. In our neighborhood people with very disparate views seemed free to present any viewpoint. I have no idea how old I was, but I fit easily under the table without coming into contact with anyone. I knew the posse did not all agree, that was clear. The thrill for me was hearing all the sides...the disagreements that dissolved the second any one of our neighborhood crew of children needed something, anything. Every mother was on hand to dispense band-aids or advice and would call your won mother well before your arrival on your own front step.
As children will do, we tested our boundaries. We rode our bikes well outside of firmly defined areas. We read things we were not supposed to know about, and with glee we shared the greatest discovered contraband. Our games were of our own design, with rules that changed as needed. You might guess that the rules changed to ensure the success of our playground-style picked teams, but the opposite was true. We would change the rules to ensure that we were all equally invested in the outcome,
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