Members of Congress, do the right thing for nation
As members of Indivisible Santa Fe, we write to express our concerns for our country and its future. Like our representatives in Congress, we are deeply moved by the issues we have been forced to face this year.
Adversity can be a tool to define what we stand for and believe in, and that has been the case for many of us in the Donald Trump years. Many in our nation are in grief for so many values that are being degraded and attacked.
On June 30, at the Families Belong Together vigil, we raised the voices of our broken hearts. Some of us have had to come to terms with how immigrants and refugees are treated in this country and what our policies say about us to the rest of the world and to ourselves.
We are caging children; we are creating internment camps; we are turning away the terrorized and punishing those who seek asylum. It is being done in our names right now. Whatever name Trump and Republicans call it, it is racism, and it will not stop unless everyone shows consistent outrage and opposes the exclusivity contrary to our national values.
This racism is not directed only at the people traveling from Mexico and Central America and trying to cross our border with Mexico; it applies to anyone who does not fit the Trumpian version of “real Americans.”
The diminishment and dehumanization of groups of people is too familiar, whether it’s remembering the Holocaust of Jews and other marginalized people of Germany and Europe under Hitler, or the holocaust of the indigenous peoples of America under the Manifest Destiny doctrine of the 19th century. It is immoral. The only people benefiting from the policies are the private prison industries and those who supply them, and the politicians they bribe through campaign donations.
Many policies are being implemented by the executive branch that will kill some of us in the long run. Seniors, children, the mentally ill and our members of the armed services will suffer the consequences. Members of Congress will be considering and voting for and against legislation on many important issues in the coming months. Some things Congress will be able to affect, some it cannot, but we will be vocal about all of them. We will address those issues as we have done in the past, with postcards and visits to congressional offices, sometimes by a piece like this one, and sometimes we will take to the streets.
Our power comes from our vote, and we will vote in November. Going forward, we ask three things:
Support legislation that ensures continuation of the rights and opportunities that symbolize the values of our nation, especially when it comes to refugee and immigrant rights.
Stand up as leaders in opposing legislation and governmental appointments that are part of the attack on our democracy by Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
Listen to, and be inclusive of, the diverse voices of the Democratic Party, many of whom will make their votes speak loudly and clearly in November.
We thank Congress for its leadership to date and pledge to help our representatives serve our state and nation to the best of their abilities during these perilous times. Please help us, too, as we continue to be visible on behalf of our cause and Indivisible on behalf of our mission.
Liz Parker lives in Santa Fe and is writing on behalf of Indivisible Santa Fe and its steering committee, which includes Stephanie Mendez and Donna Thiersch.