Upstander Reflections

This blog started when a group of students inspired me. A presidential candidate called their families “drug dealers, criminals, rapists.” He promised to build a wall separating them from their families, and to accelerate putting many of them behind that wall. Then he won. They had already invested time and money into attending the inauguration. They refused to back down. They marched through the capital wearing hats that read “upstander” across the top. They had no idea what the reaction of Trump supporters would be to their presence. They feared violence, but they went anyway. They were upstanders.   The upstanders in DC two days before the inauguration Their presence mattered. Them, along with so many others that day, sent a clear message to the president that this is their country, too. Since then, people have flooded airports protesting the president’s travel ban (which judges later ruled unconstitutional), officials within the government have leaked classif...

This week the president threw his support behind the RAISE Act . The RAISE Act is a new bill being introduced to congress that would dramatically change how legal immigration works in the United States. Here are the main points of the RAISE Act:     The amount of legal immigrants admitted would be cut in half. The United States seeks immigrants that are highly educated, young, speak English, are rich or predicted to be rich, and/or have received international awards.    If this doesn’t sound like your ancestors, then you are like me. My grandparents spoke English (with an Irish accent) and were young. However, they barely went to school and had no money or international awards. Whether you’re an immigrant American, African American or Native American, you are probably wondering: how does this help me? If all we bring in is super smart, rich, English speaking, connected people, doesn't that make it more difficult for me to compete for quality...

“We are getting nothing done!” -John McCain The past few weeks my family and I have been traveling. We went to my brother’s family’s cabin in Northern Wisconsin and all the way down to Atlanta, Georgia to visit friends. In total we logged about 2000 miles and set foot (or at least tires) in six states. Meanwhile in Washington, the House and Senate have been unable to produce any legislation on health care. They have tried and failed a few times, prompting John McCain to utter the above quote in a speech he made to the senate, days after being hospitalized for brain cancer.   John McCain addressing the Senate on July 25, 2017 CNN When I heard this quote, I immediately thought about all the Americans out there that are “getting things done!” Without these Americans, our family vacation would have been impossible. Without these Americans, much of what we do on a daily basis would be impossible. We filled up at gas stations run by entrepreneurs. We rode next to prou...

One of my favorite parts of The Wizard of Oz is when the ragtag group of travelers arrive in the Emerald City. The Wizard himself lives there so the place is well fortified and seems like a sort of utopia. The weary travelers get all cleaned up and treated like royalty.      Dorothy, enjoying some pampering from the good people of The Emerald City. Source However, it doesn’t take long for Dorothy and company to figure out that the whole place is a sham. They follow the “wizard’s” command and get the witch’s broom, but he can’t fulfill his end of the bargain. “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!” That’s how I felt last week as the G20 summit was transpiring. This is a yearly meeting when the 19 wealthiest countries and the European Union get together to discuss “important” matters. There were protests. There are always protests. There were photo opts. There are always photo opts. This year the big hype was around the new American preside...

It’s been 241 years since our Founding Fathers got together and drafted the Declaration of Independence. This year, I decided I would go back and actually read it. The only line I remember learning about what this one:    We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Here is a link to the online version I read if you want to give it a read. The Declaration of Independence It is a well written document and I’m it sure can be interpreted in many ways, but this is what I got from it: There are natural rights that all people should be granted (see above). It is the government’s job to protect those rights.   If the government does not protect those rights, then it is the right of the people to dissolve the government.   The king of Great Britain has mistreated us. Here is the long li...