“Let our dream inspire you today.” That’s the opening line from a live performance in 1989 by the country duet, The Judds, opening their song, Why Not Me. I heard that song on the radio this week while driving to the subway station nearby for my hour long commute into my office in downtown Washington DC. The song struck a cord with me as I am contemplating some career and personal goals. And I turned the question internally to ask myself, why not me for the career and personal goals I want to accomplish, but hesitate out of fear or a feeling that they are out of reach for me. Why not me? More to come on the question for our career and personal goals in another post. But something more important and emotional for me took priority for this post.
As I continued to listen to the song on the train over and over again, I got to Union Station and walked outside to see the Capitol building and thinking about the violence and chaos in Minneapolis and other American cities over the subject of immigration and the cold and inhumane treatment of immigrants and citizens alike in the so called name of immigration law enforcement. I listened to the ad-lib phrase Wynonna Judd added at the end of the live performance, “America, why not me?” It caught my breath to consider that song and question in today’s context. Thinking of immigrants who are struggling in this world and just want what all of us want, a better life for themselves and their family. The immigrants who are trying to follow the laws but get caught up in bureaucracy or crooked professionals who take advantage of their situation and leave them in legal limbo. The asylum seekers who were promised protection only to be caught up in a dragnet of draconian and racist immigration deportation quotas. The citizens and legal residents who are trying to protect their neighbors, communities, constitutional rights, and country that are caught up in the brutality and made for tv and social media spectacle by an unhinged government law enforcement agency that cares more about the theater and creating fear and silencing dissent than they do with actually humanely and effectively implementing true immigration law enforcement to make our communities and country safe. I thought of each of these groups of people, humans, our neighbors, flesh and blood people, who just want what we all want, a safe America where we all can work hard to achieve our dreams. And there is plenty of opportunity to go around for all of us if we work together. We can enforce our immigration laws and remain humane and seriously consider the question from immigrants, America, why not me. And while this particular moment in time and topic is related to immigrants, there are also many different people in this country who are being singled out for being different and targeted for harassment or worse. They are the same as all of us, wanting the same thing to live their lives safely and realize their dreams. They too ask, America why not me? There is an abundance not a scarcity if we only look for it and work together and not let others divide us or pit us against one another as enemies. They are not enemies. They are not a risk to you accomplishing your dream. They aren’t a threat. They are your neighbors. They are your family. They are you and me. And we all ask, America, why not me?
I encourage all of us to look deep into our souls and hear the question from immigrants and others who are being attacked, America, why not me? And ask ourselves, America, why not them? Ignore the talking points that our government, society and social media give us. Look into your soul and consider those questions. May we all find a way to unite instead of further dividing, because ALL of our stories matter.
