Something of Substance

It is a few hours before the second presidential debate. I am decided, but not impressed. I heard what Obama said in the first campaign. I read what he wrote. As he feathered hope in our caps for what WE could do, he emerged as the one who could lead us. It was a tall order. If there is failure, we failed too. All of us. We failed to courageously confront injustice at every opportunity. I failed. I didn't always speak up and I didn't push forward in my community at times when I could have.

In politics, parties prevailed (which is always ugly.) As Lincoln said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Our president took many opportunities to lead and made some wise and courageous decisions. He also made some weak and ineffective decisions (apparently trying too hard to please.)Too many times, he surrendered where he might have fought for the poor, the marginalized and for the world. The last debate simply magnified where he has fallen short. We need him to stand up tonight. We need him to be our president. Pliable statistics will not do! We need to hear about hope and opportunity and our successes. We need to hear about this world where people are recognizing their worth and claiming their space. We need something of substance!


 And after he exits the room tonight (if we believe him), then we need to follow him. Not just to the voting booth, but to the mountain! We need to take on what is ours to carry. We cannot wait to hear about the bills we want to pass. We need to find the front lines and stand there in solidarity. Steps have been taken: to challenge the military-industrial complex, to create a safety net within a healthy competitive marketplace, to be stewards of the earth and to ensure that folks from all walks of life have access to the things we all deserve as children of a loving God. Let's walk together FORWARD, as they say, and make our country a better place by electing a leader who understands the value of all people in a democracy and welcomes all as participants. Let's help him get there!

Where Politics come home

I can not thrust my political opinion upon anyone else. I know that. There are many days that I'm not even sure what my political opinion is. I know where I lean. I'm pretty sure I know why. But I'm not intimately familiar with the ins and outs of Social Security.  I don't agree with either political party on what they would consider a just war. I think pronounced approaches toward Israel are lacking. Etc, etc.

There is a place where politics come home for me though. I will be impacted by how the Dream Act pans out after this election. The Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act will help children of undocumented parents start a path to citizenship. More importantly, the youth who take advantage of this act will be recognized as valuable members of our society: a society they were thrust into and have come to know as their only influence. I will be affected because I have three nieces whose lives beyond school depend on if this act is upheld beyond this administration.

These young women are a part of my life. I love them like daughters and I would die for any one of them. They came to us eight years ago worn from a 2-day, sardine-packed van ride across the United States. The van was the easy part, after being separated from their mother and being held in a Safe (and I use that term loosely) House in Tuscon. Lizbeth was four, Lizeth six and Jessica eight. They were tired and timid when they arrived. Everything was strange. As hard as we tried to make our place a home for them, it took awhile. English was hard at first. It was hard making friends while learning the language. I can't speak for all of them, but I would guess the word to describe their first year of school would be "hell". But they learned and they made friends and they grew and have become sweet, intelligent, caring, aware young women- all of them.

Do they think about what it means to be here? Do they care about their immigration status? I'm not sure where it falls on the list after cell phones and first kisses, but I'm pretty sure it's not toward the top. Some day they'll care. Maybe when most young people start caring- when they start making their own decisions and when their lives depend on those decisions. I want them to have opportunities when they start caring. I don't want them to experience the humiliation of deportation. No matter what they decide to do as adults, I want them to be able to call this country home along with their native Mexico.

Some minds will turn to parental choices. As irrelevant as this is, I want to address it. If you had to choose to do something illegal to help your children survive, wouldn't you? Under the current economic system in Mexico, opportunities are scarce and U.S. businesses have not helped the situation by utilizing the cheap labor in Mexico and many other struggling countries. Our ancestors (with the exception of Native Americans) left somewhere to come here by whatever means necessary. Some of our ancestors forced slaves to transport them. The history is deep and complicated and most groups have some representation that wanted to close the door behind them. It seems it would be more productive to discuss how we are going to work to effectively reduce (and eventually end) global poverty. It's the only fair, humane solution to this problem and I hope my nieces will be here (or wherever they choose to be) to help our world take steps toward that solution.