Q 8 Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

A robo email from a Congressman was the first mail I saw today.  It was from Hank Johnson, GA-4, who was a friend in the Congress. He was talking about the need to take care of one another in this time of healthcare peril. He was asking the Georgia governor to take decisive and strong action lead Georgians to take care of one another.

It reminded me of a conversation he and I had one day on the floor of the House.  He asked me, “Why I wore a bolo tie when I wasn’t Hispanic or native American?”  I replied, “Because we are too tribal in this body. I want Hispanics to know I respect and honor their history. This is a simple open way to express it. I know it works because I can see the reaction of Hispanics in the Capitol as I walk around.”

This epidemic has driven us together, if we don’t miss the opportunity to see our universal plight. Corona virus is an equal opportunity enemy.  Rich, poor, old, young, and all ethnicity get their share of the problem. The melding on the floor of the Congress crosses every tribal line on the floor including age, sexual orientation and financial status or ideological position.

My second email of the day was with a good friend who happens to be staunch Republican who supports President Trump. How could he be my friend/brother?  I got to know him from long contacts during our Congressional activities. I emailed him because I needed a favor and I knew he would respond, but only after he gave me a bunch of Rep/Dem guff.

Before the epidemic was noticed in the USA, on 1 February I went to France to a little house I have in a rural wine area. I was going to chill out after teaching last quarter at the University of Washington. I planned to spend about 60 days, but I did not buy a return ticket.

 

Then the tsunami of COVID19 hit and it hit particularly hard in Seattle, my hometown. The question for me was,” Shall I return home or stay sheltered in place in an isolated and safe spot in France.”

Two problems reared their ugly heads.  Passports and French visitor visas.  My 10-year passport expires in August, so I needed to consider renewal before the problem got worse.  I remember the difficulties during government shutdowns in the 1990’s that people had in getting documents from the State Dept. so I thought I should act now.

My second problem was the lack of a French visitor visa.  Since my anticipated stay was less than the 90-day visa, I opted not to apply for a visa which is permissible. The question,” How do I rectify this problem?”

Having served in the State Department in Kinshasa, Zaire I knew about the consulates which our government operates.  I called the Bordeaux Consulate and the Paris Embassy, to no avail. I called multiple times and worked the phone tree as directed and left messages with cell and email information. I know these are good public servants who are swamped by the questions of anxious people, so a lack of response was understandable.

After a week I was getting more anxious and I thought of my Republican friend.  I called and asked for a favor.  I know the atmosphere in the House is combative at best and poisonous at worst, but I know my friend.  His response was,” Glad you were smart enough to call a reliable Republican and not a dastardly Democrat.” Then he asked to be awarded my Bolo ties in my will if I died. Final note was,” I should call in 3 days if I didn’t hear from the State Department.”

The next morning, I got a call from the Consul General in Paris who is helping me with my problems. 

Members often fail to see each other as human beings but we all are in this together.  No matter how anxious or isolated one feels we can see our brother’s problem and help as Christ suggested in the story of the good Samaritan.  My Republican friend was a good Samaritan.  He may disagree on ideological stuff, but he helped his brother, expecting nothing in return except a bolo tie. Hopefully this crisis can bring us back to talking and compromising on solutions that help us all.