voting day

We have a Venezuelan student with us for the school year. She's from a privileged position at home. She's wealthy, and the youngest in a family that's apparently willing to do most everything for this girl rather than have her learn to be even a little bit independent.

When I was a kid we had a few foreign students come to stay with us for short periods. The one I remember most was a Spaniard that had spent a lot of time in Argentina. I must have been at my most precocious young teen years when he came. I was fascinated by his extreme views of society and it's hierarchy.

To refer to him as a fascist would not be too far out of line I think. He too came from a privileged background. He was also steeped in military traditions if I remember correctly. He inadvertently became my touch stone for the slippery slope that comes from what we in Canada refer to as a conservative outlook. I gather that in some places the word conservative is used in politics to refer to more what we would call liberal values.

I read an article about the current administration in Venezuela this morning. It reminds me once again that I like to vote.