AT PLAY TODAY in our immigration debate are warring philosophies of who a “people” are and what we owe each other for simply belonging to the same human family. On one side, frothing, fearful punditry stoke division and hostility. On the other, fearless activists champion for our better natures.
THE DIALOGUE ON IMMIGRATION has, historically, been contentious and cyclical. There are times when hysteria peaks, and rational thought struggles to enter the national dialogue. And then, there are moments the truth breaches the surface and shines brightly. This week is one of those moments.
THE NATION’S EYES are fixed upon a trembling economy. It affects our ability to survive, to thrive, and even think rationally. This crisis impacts the lives of immigrants on multiple levels, be it through provisions to the economic stimulus bill, individual lawmen exceeding the bounds of their office, or a scrambling Pentagon viewing immigrants as easy fodder for the war machine.
ALL OVER THE NATION, communities are clamoring to be heard. In this worsening economic landscape, migrant communities are being terrorized by violent raids, families are destabilized, wage earners are jailed or detained, and xenophobic pundits continue to fuel a rising wave of hate crimes against Latinos. The stakes could not be any higher.
THE NEW YEAR RUSHES UPON US with momentum born of crisis and necessity. In every direction one looks, change is needed—and not cosmetic alteration, but deep, structural repair. The issue of immigration is no exception.
HATE DOES NOT EMERGE FROM A VACUUM. Nor could it thrive there, we might add. Just as many hands are required to bring about positive change in our culture, so are many energies and voices required to propagate negativity on a large scale. There is no doubt that a battle rages and that the heart of this nation is at stake.
House of Nezua
the XOLAGRAFIK theater!
