Idahoans have a choice in setting state's trajectory
I was 16 when I had my first transformative political experience. It was 1967 and I had been selected as an American Field Service student. I along with 700 other U.S. students boarded a ship headed to Europe. On arrival we all headed to our assigned countries; (destinations known, experiences to come unknown). Five of us departed to Portugal, then ruled by the dictator Antonio Salazar.
Today, I direct the non-profit organization North Idaho Voter Services and have daily conversations with as many people as possible about our government, our candidates, and our current issues. What I constantly hear is that confidence in our government and public officials is low — so low that many voters do not want to vote. It feels like we’re poised at the cusp of another political transformation, with some choosing flight and some choosing fight.
As a teenager in Portugal, the most challenging adjustment for me as an AFS student wasn’t the new bed, the food, or the language. Instead, it was the authoritarian rule and how it permeated the country and the family with whom I lived.
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