Six or seven months into our stay in China 10 years ago, Misha and I went to the market to buy her a pair of shoes. We went to “The Mall,” a four or five story building with several kiosks and departments. Like much of China at the time, appearances could be deceiving – “The Mall” looked like Macy’s but sold items you’d find at a Dollar Store.
Buying shoes was a chore that day, the clerks at that counter were deep in conversation and cigarettes and didn’t acknowledge our presence. It was as if they knew that if they helped us, it might mess up their shelves of beautifully displayed shoes. I’m not sure how we finally got their attention, I might have just walked around the counter incurring their wrath and forcing the issue. I do remember standing there, frustrated, knowing that whether or not they helped me they would receive their full paycheck for that day. But then I suddenly felt sorry for them: the economic and political system in which they live created apathy in these disenfranchised women.
I remember being grateful that in my country, there was no room for that same apathy because, unlike these women, we can participate in our political system. I promised myself that day that I would vote at every opportunity when I returned to the States.
Please vote today. Please take advantage of this opportunity, most of the world does not have this freedom.
