Madame Secretary

We were at a graduation ceremony the other night, and who should my wife, Dianne, literally bump into on our way out of the auditorium but the US Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. As she passed on her way to the main door, she congratulated Daniel, whose graduation we were attending, and shook hands with his Dad, Won. It was a nice gesture.

This was no Scott Pruitt, hiding from the public or travelling with a coterie of security guards. She was by herself, walking through the crowd after sitting on the bleachers like the rest of us.

The DeVos's daughter and ours played on the same high-school soccer team. On chilly afternoons Dick and Betsy sat on the same heat-sapping aluminum bleachers as the rest of us. And Betsy was better than most at engaging and welcoming strangers.

I don't agree with her policies or think she was the best pick for Secretary of Education or think she should have accepted a position with this administration. I would think more highly of her if she had turned Trump down. But in my few interactions with her, she has seemed a decent human being. And it gives me hope that not all in this administration feel they need to be pampered and adored for being of high position. Even there, not all is foul.

Yes, she's filthy rich and always has been, even before she married into money. But while that may affect her outlook and political perspectives, it doesn't allow me to assume she is a bad person.

It can be tempting to view all of one group, of one class, of one nationality or race even, as inferior or evil or wrong. But even among the most pampered yet paranoid power-mongers there is some evidence of humanity. Let's not forget that, however much we want to.