President
Obama’s speech last night on temporary immigration reform was excellent. He was
poised, determined and intelligent. He was our nation’s leader; the one many of
us have been waiting for these last few years to show real courage. The
executive action he will enact is compassionate, sensible, and humane. It does
not go far enough for me, but at least, finally, something tangible is being
done to address the millions of undocumented living and working in our country,
many of them for years. The Republican’s
freak out over this is silly and so over the top it borders on cartoonish. They
know they have royally messed up. In spite of their recent election victories
they have failed and lost. For now and forevermore the Latino community in this
country will be grateful to President Obama, and those Democrats who have
supported him in this, for actually doing something to legitimately include
them in our society. This nonsense from Republicans that the president’s action
has “poisoned the well” is laughable. Anyone paying attention knows the
Republicans in Congress and many of them in elected offices across the country
have never recognized President Obama’s presidency and have done everything in their
power to discredit, vilify, and ruin him. Those attempts will, sadly, continue.
They are the actions of a political party completely out of working ideas for
America. And they will eventually pay for having nothing substantial to offer
us but rancor and obstruction. But for millions of Latinos and other
undocumented immigrants here, they will soon have a chance to know the freedom
to legally work and belong that they have so long hoped for. I rejoice with all
of them. And thank you President Obama for taking a stand on something so
important. Your legacy has been significantly enhanced.
If I was told there was a bomb in my building and I had five minutes to evacuate my apartment I’d grab a grocery bag and quickly toss these items into it: 1. A photo of my grandparents, Mom and Pop and me, when I was 15 years old. I learned what love is made of from them. I learned what it is to be kissed on and hugged in arms so tender they felt like God’s arms. I discovered self worth from those two angels in human flesh. Of all the people in my life, they were the ones who made me feel I counted. Honestly, whatever capacity I have to love others came from them. 2. A sentimental, dog-eared, stars in the margin copy of Pat Conroy’s, “The Prince of Tides.” It is a book I have read three times and often return to for its wisdom. It is a harsh, profoundly tragic novel, the story of a family so broken and tortured by such flawed and wounded people that it is sometimes difficult to turn the next page. And yet it is the story of such Herculean courage and endurance that you want...
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