Tag: ICE

Ideas can wound more deeply than fists—their scars often outlast bruises. But dissent isn’t treason; it’s the American expectation. The audacity to voice a contrarian view without fear of punishment was once a defining feature of our national character. That freedom, that courage, is slipping.

A fundamental right is to stand, speak, write, or peacefully protest what you believe is wrong. It’s a moral responsibility at the core of our civic being. It is how we started. As Americans, it is who we are.

Yes, this right has been repeatedly abused and suppressed: during the Civil Rights Movement, LGBTQ advocacy, and Black Lives Matter protests. These weren’t our proudest moments—they were our failures. And yet, we are better than those moments. And we are better because of them. Just as we should be better than today’s attempts to silence pro-Palestinian and pro-Ukrainian voices, or to weaponize immigration enforcement.

Yes, public safety matters. And yes, misinformation can be dangerous, especially when weaponized at scale. But the line between protection and suppression is perilously thin. When fear becomes a rationale for silencing protest, we drift toward authoritarianism under the guise of security.

But let me be honest. I write this as someone of privilege—a white male in the dominant race and gender. I’ve never feared for my safety when expressing my views. I’ve never had to calculate the cost of speaking out to simply be heard. That insulation is not universal. And acknowledging that it is the least I can do.

The truly brave are those who speak anyway, knowing the risks. Minorities are demanding the rights that this country claims to guarantee. Immigrants who were escaping violence and chasing a future are thrust back into violence. And yet, their domestic complicit employers are not subject to the heavy hand of the law. The Pro-Palestinian voices speaking into the silence of global indifference as their homeland, their homeland of generations, is taken and broken, and their families are indiscriminately killed and starved. And even those supporting Ukraine as it fiercely defends its children and its homeland from slaughter by an invading army.

They are the ones carrying this nation’s conscience forward. They take the blows, not for fame or ideology, but for survival and dignity. The road to a better America is paved by those who get off the couch and speak out through civil dialogue, discord, and yes, disobedience.

This country grows not by force, but by engagement. We will be stronger when those in power trade masks and riot gear for open conversation—and when fabricated, non-existent, dystopian, national “emergencies” are no longer used to justify suppression. When we are afraid to speak out, the words of others fill the void, becoming all that is heard. When those of us who can speak don’t, we become complicit in the decay. The slide is ours to stop; or ours to be held accountable.