The two were walking along Nogales Highway, side by side in the hot, late afternoon sun. A little boy and a young man, both dressed in turquoise blue T-shirts and shorts.
They walked at the same speed, one adjusted for the stride of tiny legs. There was a conversation going, the man’s head tilted down and the boy’s face tilted up. I assumed they are father and son, but no matter the formal relationship, it was clear they’re close.
These moments, looking into someone else’s universe, can happen anywhere. The ordinary, the regular, plain ol’ life moments that are easy to glide past as we’re consumed in our own worlds. We have so many ways to build a wall of oblivion around ourselves.
But when that wall is breached, when you notice what’s beyond, it’s often the beginning of a smile.
Watching the pair, I wondered “Who are you going to be?” So much is ahead for that boy, and already so much is behind him, his foundation in life, the roots of his trajectory. And he’s still just a little guy, living in his small world that’s decided by others.
This boy will know some of the people who will shape his future. Many others he will never know will play a role in his life, deciding how much investment in time, effort and money he deserves. Those in positions to decide what this boy’s future is worth will never know him, either. And they may not want to.
We talk around this reality a lot. We don’t hear elected officials saying, “Well, I don’t think kids need a good education,” because unless you’re Donald Trump, who can turn any bizarre statement into an applause line, such honesty would be political suicide. But Arizona Republicans have passed state budgets that have long cut money for schools, and now our children must deal with a severe teacher shortage.
Arizona tax revenues have been far higher than the current budget anticipated, but the governor or Legislature aren’t moving to increase allocations for any level of education. That strikes me as a pretty clear answer to the “what is his future worth” question.
This is what I want to know from politicians: Who are you including in your vision of the future? When you talk about “the American people” or “Arizonans,” who are you talking about?
Some of the exclusions are easy to spot. For example, when Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio places a higher value on a fetus than a woman who has been sexually assaulted by a friend, stranger or family member, his “American people” excludes the women who have had that experience, those who will, and all who think women are full humans capable of making their own medical decisions.
But so many of the important differences aren’t talked about in such plain terms. And this brings me back to that little boy and the young man in their matching T-shirts, walking down the street. They’re not a special-interest group, or a well-funded political- action committee. They’re just people, like the rest of us, whose lives are affected by what those in power decide we deserve, or don’t.
We have to listen carefully to what candidates and officials say and do, and figure out for ourselves if we’re included on the winning side of their vision.
