This is not my America (and yet it is)
I shouldn’t have to preface this by saying that proud to be American. There used to be a time I wasn’t sure if I was American enough, I did a delicate little balance of how I pronounced certain words and pretended I knew the tune of classic American songs and said the pledge of allegiance loud enough for my classmates to hear each morning. I felt like I had to prove my American-ness. I used to be acutely aware of speaking out against American policy or government in case there were doubts of where my allegiance lays.
Which makes me wonder, what exactly did I think makes someone American? Are you American if you’re born here? If your parents were born here? Your great grandparents? Do you have to barbecue? Enjoy a good steak and cracking open a cold one? Have a family member who’s served in the military? Regularly go to baseball games? Know the national anthem by heart? Root for a certain football team? Go to church every Sunday? Fly a confederate flag if you’re in the south? Do you have to be white?
The America that I’ve come to know and love is full of bounty and promise. There’s hope and potential that hard work and creativity and commitment to your family are the ingredients needed to carve out a decent life. (Which works for some people, but many of us know this isn’t quite enough for those who face additional hurdles like generational trauma, homelessness, and structural violence.) Still, America at its best is a place where dreams can come true. Where so many cultures across time and space are brought together, where we celebrate all kinds of holidays and eat all kinds of foods and read all kinds of stories. People different backgrounds meet and realize they have more in common than they thought they could.
This Fourth of July, my heart is heavy. I can’t stop thinking about the thousands of kids separated from their parents and siblings, detained at our borders, forced into dehumanizing conditions that I hesitate to articulate because brown bodies are so often treated as disposable but still know that we must be specific with these details because so much is at stake. We learned about the holocaust more than once in my middle and high school education, less about the removal of native Americans and Japanese internment. But the question always came up- how could so many citizens stand by and let this happen?
We have a few Congress people who visited these facilities who have relentlessly been sharing these last few days. Independent sources like Office of the Inspector General have corroborated these findings. Doctors have spoken about the human rights violations. My Twitter feed has been covered in these updates - but I realize that if you follow different people or different news providers, then the story sounds different. It might seem like a minor issue compared to Nike’s decision to pull a shoe design, a publicity stunt orchestrated by AOC, or a complete fabrication as multiple Fox News correspondents have insisted.
The real point that I’m getting at here is that to me, there’s one simple thing that makes someone American: if they want to be American, then they are. That’s it. So I see thousands of now American kids held indefinitely in dehumanizing conditions. They’ve been separated from parents, are kept in different areas from their siblings. They crowd the floors and sleep on tinfoil. There’s little hygiene and those who visit the facilities have been disturbed by the smell of sweat, urine, and feces. There's stories of no toothpaste and drinking from toilets. Only a fraction of these kids (and adults) have seen any sort of medical professional. The parents are held in equally devastating conditions. There is no protection inside those walls. Innocent people are harassed, often times by the guards charged with maintaining order. Guards who are yes, understaffed and overworked and suffering a toll of their own. But guards who an alarming number of belong to hateful Facebook groups (for years) where members post cruel commentary. This treatment is indefinite. There is no due process. Anywhere else in America, treating another person like this would be child abuse, malpractice, or harassment. 75% of those detained are held in private facilities; billions of federal funds have gone to a handful of corporations in the last year who have a deeply vested interest in expanding their operations. I wish all of this was an exaggeration but to deny this truth now is willful ignorance.
Even if you don’t think of these innocent people seeking asylum through legal means as being fellow Americans per se, our government is perpetuating unnecessary and cruel violence on home soil.
I know there’s a lot of division in our country. Maybe today is a moment to leave that behind us and focus on what unites us as American people. But ignoring these rifts only makes things worse. Speaking up about this kind of violence is the first step towards fixing, the first towards a healing America's soul needs now more than ever. To those who don't agree with this, I try hard to show patience and grace, to understand where you're coming from and why you say and do things I find hurtful.
Which makes me wonder, what exactly did I think makes someone American? Are you American if you’re born here? If your parents were born here? Your great grandparents? Do you have to barbecue? Enjoy a good steak and cracking open a cold one? Have a family member who’s served in the military? Regularly go to baseball games? Know the national anthem by heart? Root for a certain football team? Go to church every Sunday? Fly a confederate flag if you’re in the south? Do you have to be white?
The America that I’ve come to know and love is full of bounty and promise. There’s hope and potential that hard work and creativity and commitment to your family are the ingredients needed to carve out a decent life. (Which works for some people, but many of us know this isn’t quite enough for those who face additional hurdles like generational trauma, homelessness, and structural violence.) Still, America at its best is a place where dreams can come true. Where so many cultures across time and space are brought together, where we celebrate all kinds of holidays and eat all kinds of foods and read all kinds of stories. People different backgrounds meet and realize they have more in common than they thought they could.
This Fourth of July, my heart is heavy. I can’t stop thinking about the thousands of kids separated from their parents and siblings, detained at our borders, forced into dehumanizing conditions that I hesitate to articulate because brown bodies are so often treated as disposable but still know that we must be specific with these details because so much is at stake. We learned about the holocaust more than once in my middle and high school education, less about the removal of native Americans and Japanese internment. But the question always came up- how could so many citizens stand by and let this happen?
We have a few Congress people who visited these facilities who have relentlessly been sharing these last few days. Independent sources like Office of the Inspector General have corroborated these findings. Doctors have spoken about the human rights violations. My Twitter feed has been covered in these updates - but I realize that if you follow different people or different news providers, then the story sounds different. It might seem like a minor issue compared to Nike’s decision to pull a shoe design, a publicity stunt orchestrated by AOC, or a complete fabrication as multiple Fox News correspondents have insisted.
The real point that I’m getting at here is that to me, there’s one simple thing that makes someone American: if they want to be American, then they are. That’s it. So I see thousands of now American kids held indefinitely in dehumanizing conditions. They’ve been separated from parents, are kept in different areas from their siblings. They crowd the floors and sleep on tinfoil. There’s little hygiene and those who visit the facilities have been disturbed by the smell of sweat, urine, and feces. There's stories of no toothpaste and drinking from toilets. Only a fraction of these kids (and adults) have seen any sort of medical professional. The parents are held in equally devastating conditions. There is no protection inside those walls. Innocent people are harassed, often times by the guards charged with maintaining order. Guards who are yes, understaffed and overworked and suffering a toll of their own. But guards who an alarming number of belong to hateful Facebook groups (for years) where members post cruel commentary. This treatment is indefinite. There is no due process. Anywhere else in America, treating another person like this would be child abuse, malpractice, or harassment. 75% of those detained are held in private facilities; billions of federal funds have gone to a handful of corporations in the last year who have a deeply vested interest in expanding their operations. I wish all of this was an exaggeration but to deny this truth now is willful ignorance.
Even if you don’t think of these innocent people seeking asylum through legal means as being fellow Americans per se, our government is perpetuating unnecessary and cruel violence on home soil.
I know there’s a lot of division in our country. Maybe today is a moment to leave that behind us and focus on what unites us as American people. But ignoring these rifts only makes things worse. Speaking up about this kind of violence is the first step towards fixing, the first towards a healing America's soul needs now more than ever. To those who don't agree with this, I try hard to show patience and grace, to understand where you're coming from and why you say and do things I find hurtful.
But I still don't understand why some are terrified of people who are different from them, worried that immigrants make this country worse. How many immigrants do you know and how many are worse than the average American-born citizen? Not many in my experience. How can some see these folks at the border as less american, less human, somehow responsible for their own suffering? Think they shouldn’t come here if things are really so bad but haven’t paused to reflect on how their lives back home must be even worse? Wonder what kind of diseases they’re bringing over when it’s the unsanitary conditions they’re kept in that are perpetuating disease (also don’t forget how Americans have spread disease across history, smallpox blankets wiped out generations of indigenous people)? The silence is devastating. I know these folks can be loud because they put up a fight about abortion access in the name of decontextualized fetuses’ right to life. How can a definition of life include an embryo with mild electrical activity (not quite a heartbeat) but not living, breathing, crying, traumatized children who have endured a perilous journey in hopes of a better life? Do you see yourselves as the bystanders that history will be confused about fifty years from now?
(I know that last question was a little snide but I really am interested in hearing from people who don't agree on this matter. I want to learn what's holding you back.)
It’s not too late. If you want to hear the full story, go to direct sources (like the Inspector General's report!) instead of someone else’s commentary on the situation. Call your representatives and senators. Donate to organizations like RAICES and the ACLU. Don’t bother collecting supplies because these facilities won’t take them (plus, it’s not a lack of funding that’s causing this mess).
This time last year we were horrified that families were separated, now we don’t even question it; what horrors will we take for granted as normal this time next year? It’s time to draw a line in the sand. Which side of history do you want to be on?
This is the ugly side of America, and it’s not what I celebrate today. My America, OUR America, it is big enough for all of us. We believe in the underdog and helping pick folks up when they’re down. We celebrate differences because we know our different stories make this country richer, and when it comes down to it, we share so many common values like hard work, integrity, family, community, hope, pride, and joy. We have a little ways to go right now, but I still believe in the power of the American people and I’m hopeful that there will be less of a damper on celebrating America by the Fourth of July next year.
It’s not too late. If you want to hear the full story, go to direct sources (like the Inspector General's report!) instead of someone else’s commentary on the situation. Call your representatives and senators. Donate to organizations like RAICES and the ACLU. Don’t bother collecting supplies because these facilities won’t take them (plus, it’s not a lack of funding that’s causing this mess).
This time last year we were horrified that families were separated, now we don’t even question it; what horrors will we take for granted as normal this time next year? It’s time to draw a line in the sand. Which side of history do you want to be on?
This is the ugly side of America, and it’s not what I celebrate today. My America, OUR America, it is big enough for all of us. We believe in the underdog and helping pick folks up when they’re down. We celebrate differences because we know our different stories make this country richer, and when it comes down to it, we share so many common values like hard work, integrity, family, community, hope, pride, and joy. We have a little ways to go right now, but I still believe in the power of the American people and I’m hopeful that there will be less of a damper on celebrating America by the Fourth of July next year.
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