Restoring the House of Hope

The American Dream is a simple narrative: people from all corners of the world come to our shores looking for a chance at a better life economically and spiritually. People come to this country to find employment and better opportunities for a prosperous life. They also come here to choose how to worship or not to worship, to be educated in fields that call to them, to decide who they are and how to live their lives. Artists come here to create and scientists come here to research.

America has been humanity’s House of Hope for hundreds of years.

Most of my family tree has lived out this narrative for centuries now, but some families’ inclusion in this story is more recent. No one is more entitled to have a chance at living this story than anyone else- and that’s the point. The House of Hope does not exclude, it welcomes.

Our legacy of hope is in peril. Residents seeking our American Dream are being deported without due process or even a reasonable explanation. Congress is trying to pass legislation that diminishes opportunities for immigrants. A top official for the Executive branch spoke into a live mic that habeas corpus means that the president can deport anyone he wants.

How did we come to this?  And more importantly, how do we correct the trajectory of history before it’s too late?

America is in spiritual crisis. We are divided. We are suspicious. We are disengaged. This is leading to a disillusionment of those who are dedicated to the democratic process that is foundational to the American Dream. This trend is also giving folks who are not engaged a reason to stay away. Understandably, who wants to stick their neck out right now?

But sticking our neck out is just what we need to do. We need to raise holy hell, as my immigrant grandmother would have said; We need to continue to protest, vote, and seek out and support candidates who have a moral compass. Show up, lean in, and don’t stop until reason, compassion, and humility can be found in the faces and the actions of those who make the laws.

We must not forget who we are: the House of Hope which is home to hundreds of millions of people who are descendants of immigrants. We are the children of strangers who became members of an imperfect but aspiring American community. Knowing this, we must protect the stranger and show hospitality, until they are one of us, too.

It is not too late to restore the House of Hope. The Dream is not dead. We must keep trying.