To me, the United States is the best place in the world. We have a Constitution that welcomes people of all backgrounds, especially folks who are seeking rights and freedom.
But some people make it to this country with their families only to be later separated. This can and does cause trauma. It’s bad. It’s as if people are placed into categories that only the government knows how to distinguish. It seems biased. Hispanic and Latino people often struggle when they come over the border from Mexico into the U.S. The government splits them up and disjoints their families.
And this reminds me of the way that my people were split up when they first came to this country. My ancestors did not voluntarily come to the United States, they were forced to come here. They were split up and beaten and abused. We are still struggling with this, even after 300 years.
Although this is the land of the free, it’s still a place where people struggle. In World War II, Japanese American families were split up and put into camps, separated and discriminated against.
Long before them, there were the Native Americans. They were almost extinguished. They were put into camps, treated poorly and robbed of all their life-sustaining goods.
Almost every community in this country has had to prove that they can survive through a struggle. Does that mean that we are strong? I pray to God that this is what makes us great because it makes us resilient.
This is what I think makes us strong as a country and in the end, what makes us love America enough to love each other.
