The Kids are Not OK

Up until this week, I feel like I was functioning okay in Trump's America. My big hope was that Trump's election, which I recognize was widely supported by a very misguided white church, would be the catalyst to a big spiritual awakening to the concept of actually loving our neighbor. I knew it was going to take some time for hearts to change, and people to repent. Maybe we wouldn't even get there until 2020. But, at least I thought the silver lining is that the church would wake up.  And, mainstream culture would also start being more engaged with politics.

But the health care reform is putting me over the edge. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? Every rational person knows that giving people access to health care so they aren't forced to wait until an Emergency Room urgent visit moves them into bankruptcy or serious disability results in savings in the long run. It not only makes economic sense, it's the humane thing to do. But here are the Alt-right giving folks a 6 ft ladder while their in a 20 ft hole and thinking that's a solution. These law makers literally have blood on their hands.

The folks waiting for the other shoe to drop with health care are waiting with dread, but people with shaky immigration status are living in fear. In the last couple weeks buses of migrant workers in Woodburn, 45 min from PDX, were stopped and people were detained and are now getting ready for deportation. These are hardworking folks, trying to make a better future for themselves and their families.

Woodburn has a special place in my heart, as I first visited on a school trip in early elementary school. For some of my classmates, Woodburn was an opportunity to see a Latino community without even having to leave the country. We went to the library filled with books in Spanish and saw a tortilla factory in action. We got to speak Spanish to folks everywhere we went.

This culture of diversity was something we celebrated and appreciated. I know that my education wasn't and isn't the norm in this country. Obviously, our world would be a much different place if more kids showed up to Woodburn to learn.

Speaking of learning - Cros started tap dancing. He's a dancing fool.