gm-reflection

  I want to start with a family I know well. Coastal elites would probably call them redneck. They drive big trucks , they hunt, go to rodeos , they vote Republican every single time. MAGA conservative . The kind of people we’re told are anti-immigrant, anti-other, anti-change...... We hear that story on repeat. But here’s what’s also true. One member of this family told me about a young Indian immigrant who worked at their local gas station. They spoke about him with real warmth — about their small daily exchanges, how the man was doing, whether he seemed lonely. The kindness was not for show. They even invited him to their family Thanksgiving. Yet the attendant’s boss, the owner of the store, also Indian, had warned him not to talk with Americans because “they’re mean.” That little triangle of mistrust and tenderness says everything. Every side is both right and wrong, kind and suspicious, generous and guarded. The need to box other people is everywhere. We all do it — conser...