With anti-migrant rhetoric, how could ‘city on a hill’ sink so low?

Massachusetts holds a unique position in the history of migration (“Anti-migrant venom pouring out in public,” page A1, March 20). From the promise of a “city on a hill” in John winthrop’s 1630 speech to Frederick Douglass’s arrival in New bedford, the experiences of newcomers to Massachusetts have shaped the country’s self-image as a bastion for people in search of freedom from oppression.

Will we allow ourselves to fail to uphold that tradition? in the local debates around the “migrant crisis,” indeed in the very description of humans as a “crisis,” we imperil our state’s historic commitments to liberty and equality. if Massachusetts gives up on serving as a refuge and a land of opportunity, we must ask: what is Massachusetts?

This is the conversation we need to have. it is not the time for dog whistles that manipulate history. when we allow people to mingle the tropes of the far right with excuses about “the character of our town,” Massachusetts is in a dangerous place.

We can have conversations about character and we should have conversations about the identity of the Commonwealth. those conversations need not fester on Facebook or in hysterical town meetings. they can happen at our libraries, historic sites, and cultural centers, public spaces established for residents to learn, understand, and imagine the future of their communities. we can meet as humans to find ways to help other humans. that is, of course, if courage is still a characteristic of our towns and our state.

If Massachusetts gives up on serving as a refuge and a land of opportunity, we must ask: What is Massachusetts?

BRIAN BOYLES Executive director Mass Humanities Northampton