This country was once a beacon of hope to the disenfranchised. It provided a safety net to displaced people around the world. It looked past the exterior and understood that people are not the sum total of their governments, and accepted those who were at risk because they didn't fit the mold of the totalitarian places from which they came.
On this day, of all days, when we are supposed to remember the losses of The Holocaust, when we are reminded of what we must never accept again, we, the United States of America, have shut our doors to the very people most at risk on this planet. It is shameful, and I feel ashamed. It is wrong. It is horrifying. It is immoral. We have given up who were trying to be for the last 250 years in order to be something so much less than we should be.
The terrorists have won. And make no mistake about it, they are celebrating this day. Because it will light the fire of extremism in places where the flames were not even flickering, and will fan the inferno further where we were already struggling for control.
Is it a coincidence that the country fueling the most terrorists in the world, Saudi Arabia, was not included in this wholesale nightmare of a ban? Everyone will draw their own conclusions, but the fact that Trump has financial dealings there certainly does come into question. Conflict of interest indeed.
I hate conflict. I love my family and friends, and I want to understand why they believe what they do, and think as they do. I have remained largely silent through this election and this entire trying season, just hoping to get through without alienating anyone I care about, no matter how bewildering I found their thought process to be.
But this? No. It is too much. Today, I am going to take my stand with those who refuse to accept the USA as a place that slams the door on the world.
We must stand for what is right. We must remain a place of hope, of dreams, of possibilities. We must continue to stand for what the Statue of Liberty symbolizes.
Every single person in this country has a responsibility to do the right thing, not just for themselves, not just for the refugees, not even for the country. This is about what is morally right. We are not alone on this planet, and virtually the entire free world is against us. Let us all be the change, let us all protest hate, let us all bring the hope back. This is not about saving ourselves. This is about saving humanity.
If you believe Trump's words that things are going nicely, I will tell you flat out you have been conned by a sociopath who will continue to lie to you, and to manipulate you, for his own ends. He will not respect you for going along with him, he will think less of you as each minute ticks off the clock, and will continue to do exactly as he pleases because he now knows there are absolutely no limits to what he will get away with. He has the biggest platform in the world, and he is taking us all with him for his power trip. We must stop the madness now.
I believe our very lives depend on it.
