MY DAY WITH JOSE: "Emancipate Yourself from Mental Slavery, None But Ourselves Can Free Our Minds" -- Bob Marley

Yesterday, an ATT service technician, Jose, came to my home to fix my Wi-Fi. Little did I know at the time how Jose would influence me. Always an ice breaker these days, our conversation initially focused on Donald Trump. Jose was surprised that so many of his friends and colleagues were intending to vote for Trump. When he inquired, the answers were always the same – Trump is a successful business man who will handle things differently and move the country away from the interference of big government. Jose believes one of today’s biggest problems regarding voting is that most of the people he knows do not educate themselves but rely on biased newscasts for ALL of their information. And, they believe everything they hear and have no desire to delve deeper. Jose thinks that most Americans have an over inflated idea of how the USA is viewed by other countries and that our involvement in others’ conflicts is offensive to many living abroad. In Jose’s opinion, Trump attempts to gain support by making voters believe he can control Congress like a dictator and rule the world through increased military might. Jose thinks we have more than enough military power and fighting in other countries has accomplished nothing other than fueling resentment towards the United States.

Having immigrated to Texas from Guanajuato, Mexico at age 7 speaking no English, Jose is now 27 and has a wife and two children of his own. After graduating from high school, he joined the work force in the retail sector by explaining to a potential employer, “No, I have no prior experience to offer, because how can I gain experience if I cannot get hired for a first job.” He thinks expert on the job training has been more important to him than formal schooling. Jose is an hourly wage earner at ATT, lives in an apartment in a Hispanic/Black neighborhood, and spends almost $400 per month on his family’s cell phone service (can’t afford ATT’s). From his experience, many Blacks do not take enough responsibility for their children or their lives and too many Hispanic immigrants over indulge their kids due to guilt from working all of the time. Jose views the $15.00 raise in the hourly wage as a double-edged sword, in that “higher wages mean higher costs of living.” He is livid over the amount of taxes he pays as compared with the low corporate rate. As an immigrant himself, Jose thinks that most immigrants are basically good people looking for better opportunities, but understands that the US must implement a sound immigration policy balancing our welcoming traditions with controlling the numbers. Jose stated that he could never vote for Cruz or Trump due to their anti-immigration stances. Yet, everything will stay the same voting for Hillary, and Sanders does not have concrete plans to accomplish his ideas. Jose feels he has no good choices in this election.

Jose believes the schools should provide better sex education, since it is often taboo in families to discuss such matters. Abortion is a touchy issue with Jose; he understands that the present laws are not promoting abortion but merely giving each individual woman the right to choose, but feels that too many people are avoiding the consequences of their decisions by using ‘abortion’ as a form of birth control. Jose believes that family communication and interaction are at the heart of developing responsible children. As he commented, “Kids don’t remember any of the things their parents give them, but they never forget throwing the ball with their Dad or listening to his stories.” Jose believes the disintegration of the family unit is the cause of higher crime and gang membership. As Jose said, “Today’s children are not taught to respect their parents and have no consequences for irresponsibility.”

My Day with Jose taught me to take the time with the people who enter my little world to listen and learn how others’ think. This was no one-sided conversation. Jose got enough of my opinions to be writing his My Day With Claire right now. What was different about this conversation and harked back to my days working in the US Senate in the 1970’s, was that neither of us had to win the conversation nor be right. We listened to the other, we expressed our views, and left with something new to digest. There was no right or wrong perspective, just different points of view. And isn’t that what freedom of speech and tolerance are all about? I am a better person after My Day With Jose.