Travel Blog

After slipping in my ballots this morning (God bless early voting) I was handed a little round sticker that read "My Vote Counted." It was a version of the gold stars schoolchildren are given - a reinforcement of good behavior - and I wondered if the United States is the only country in which adults are rewarded for doing what should come naturally. Do French strikers, after rallying in the streets, receive stickers that say: "My Voice Counted"?

I thought of this as I walked to see my South American friend M. I gave him the sticker, telling him he could wear it to ward off immigration police. (Even though he's here legally, he still gets harassed.) "I was going to dress for Halloween," he said, "as a Mexican migrant worker."