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6/24/2018 4 Comments America, Know ThyselfThough We Would like to Believe Otherwise, This Is Who We AreBetween April 19 and May 31, 2018, one-thousand, nine-hundred and ninety-five children were taken away from their families by U.S. Border Patrol. Most of these children were placed in juvenile immigration shelters while their parents were labeled criminals, charged with a federal misdemeanor immigration violation, and sent to jail. All because they were seeking a better life in America, the land of opportunity. The story gained national attention as we read articles and watched news reports of children crying themselves to sleep. We learned about Marco Antonio Muñoz, an immigrant from Honduras who took his own life after the U.S. Border Patrol forcibly ripped his child from his arms. Then we saw the juvenile facilities where children slept in cages with little more than mylar blankets for comfort. Following public outcry, this past week, the Trump administration curtailed the practice of separating children from their families. The zero-tolerance immigration policy is still in place, but it is unclear how the administration will implement it going forward. “We are better than this!” Since learning about the impact the zero-tolerance immigration policy was having on families, I have had countless conversations with friends and family members emphatically claiming that this is not who we are. Every single person who has expressed that sentiment is white. And I get it. It’s easier to believe that we are the exceptional country we learned we were in grade school. It’s easier to believe that these last few weeks were an aberration. It’s easier to believe that we truly embrace and live by the values espoused by our forefathers in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” People of color know better. It’s time for us to acknowledge the truth of who we are. It’s time to recognize that the story of American exceptionalism is nothing more than propaganda. It’s time for us to wake up from the Dream and join the struggle. In the words of Ta Nehisi Coates, it is time for each of us to become “a conscious citizen of this terrible and beautiful world.” We must reconcile ourselves to the truth before we can move forward. Each of us must acknowledge, understand, and accept these moments of truth as part of our heritage:
These are just three examples where we forcibly separated innocent children from their parents. In each case, the families targeted for this inhumane treatment were people of color. A more in-depth piece would include a discussion of poverty and our criminal justice system, both of which disproportionately impact people of color. Systemic racism takes many forms. But if we can acknowledge this truth, if we can look at our past without averting our eyes, we might be able to come together and build a more just and equitable society for all of us.
4 Comments
6/24/2018 07:03:05 pm
Fantastic, Erica. Just fantastic. Brava. I learned a lot here, and while it made me even more heartbroken, I agree that the truth and acceptance of same are good places to start (toward not being like this).
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6/25/2018 09:17:29 pm
Thank you, Aine. It certainly is heartbreaking. I've always thought we would benefit from going through a truth and reconciliation process. There is so much in our history we still have to acknowledge. Only then can we take responsibility and make amends.
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6/25/2018 11:35:11 am
Well said, Erica. Thanks for your history lesson revealing uncomfortable truths about America that, if faced, could form the basis for reconciliation. I agree that "We are better than this" smacks of denial and falls back on an old broken moral compass. I'd like to see signs that read, "We should be better than this" and "How can we become better than this?" to spark honest dialogue, critical thinking, and moral imagination towards badly needed ethical evolution.
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6/25/2018 09:36:37 pm
Thank you, Nancy. My hope is that we can face the truth, acknowledge it and have that much-needed dialogue because we can do better—and we should.
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