Election day

Before me a gray haired man in a black pair of jeans and a good pair of cowboy boots, his daughter, with uncovered hair, and wife with scarf and traditional dress try to catch up with him. Good quality boots is a rarity here in this country especially if it is combined with a nice waistcoat and being worn by a North African man. I smiled, since seeing this made my day. The daughter catching my smile proudly said ‘We are going to vote’. They hadn’t received the convocation, so they had gone to the town hall on Friday and got things in order. Not voting in Belgium is fined heavily. It reminded me somewhat of the scores of registered black urban voters in certain states of the US who had disappeared from the voting registers. To my comment on her father’s footwear, she replied laughing:’ He is crazy about all things American. He has at least twenty pair of boots and even the fringed jackets.’
The girl will vote green, out of concern with climate change and also because of their anti-racist stance. I applauded her and we walked together. She is now studying to be a caregiver for the elderly but wants to train to be a nurse and add interpreting for the hearing impaired. Hopefully the thimble of encouragement I gave this young woman will help her in days she meets with intolerance.
May tolerance prevail today: remember all wo/men all are born equal and have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…