I recently worked in an I Care clinic in rural Mexico.
Volunteer optometrists -- and regular people like me -- brought used glasses from the Lion’s Club, portable equipment, and a desire to give quality eye care to people who have no access to it.
Members of the local Rotary Club worked beside us every day.
In the end our feet and our backs hurt, our brains were worn out from thinking in two languages, but we accomplished something. Together we gave glasses to 2,000 people in four days.
One, a deaf woman, smiled when she first looked through her first-ever glasses. We so take for granted the miracle of corrected vision.
The Rotary Club threw a party at the end where there are always speeches. I wanted to talk about politics, but the evening went long and everyone was tired.
Had I spoken, this is what I would have said:
“In the United States we have political problems. We are divided as a country. Many of us are alarmed, even ashamed, and working hard to keep our country on the side of justice and fairness. But we struggle. The future is uncertain.
“Whatever the outcome, I want to say this. No political party, no policy, no law, no politician, and certainly no wall will ever separate the United States from Mexico.
“You and I live apart from our governments. We share a strong sense of community, a belief in family, and the value of helping others. You are in our hearts, and nothing can take you from us.”
I’m Dave McClure, and that’s my perspective.