Surely No One Does it as Well as We Do

Some years ago after a trip to Buenos Aires to visit her parents, my wife brought back new eyeglass frames for me. They were for rimless glasses, all the rage at the time. As in the case of all rimless frames, the earpieces are set into plastic stand-in lenses until they are sent off to have the prescription filled.

There was an optometrist's establishment within walking distance of our house, so I decided to give them my business. The man who waited on me was in his late fifties or a little older. I explained that I used progressive lenses and that I wanted to use the frames which I showed him.

"Hmm! I've never seen these frames before," he said.

"They're from Argentina, I answered," thinking it would explain why they were unfamiliar.

"Are these optometry grade?" he asked, his attitude showing clear disgust.

Now think about it. First of all, the frames themselves cannot be optometry grade. They merely hold the lenses. All that is required is that they keep the entire assembly in place. So it really was rather a senseless question. Behind what he asked was the assumption that if the frames came from another country, they are at least suspect, if not frankly inferior.

It turned out that the optometrist I wanted to examine my eyes was away, which provided me cover to withdraw graciously. Obviously, the man's attitude was not common among optometry professionals. I took the frames and my business to a well-known franchise, which never once questioned the frames and who provided me with the outstanding lenses I needed in order to perform my work, to drive, to see the faces of the members of my family.

One could assume, then, that most people in the US are not disdainful of other countries, cultures, and products. However, the neocons in the government who took us into the Iraq war did so in the certainty that, given the chance, all people would embrace American-type democracy and move on to higher and better things. After all, we are the model for the whole world, they believed. We all know what happened instead. We did not challenge them when there was still the chance. I guess there are are not yet enough of us who question our supposed exceptionalism to overcome politicians who are taking advantage of our fears.