We're on a collision course with history
- Melissa Herrera: Not Waiting for Friday
- October 20, 2024
- 604
Sometimes I lose my words. Right before a most momentous election that’s not what you want. I had plans for facts and figures, maybe even some polls, then laid that down and covered it with some dirt. People hear the truth if they want to. Mostly we hear what we want.
Today I browsed some of my columns from 2015 and 2016 and found myself to be too tepid, almost afraid.
And I asked myself why: What will people say? What will people think? What will people do?
Back then those were the whys. I’ve always been a cautious, careful person. Today I see others hootin’ and hollerin’ and tootin’ a weird horn full of conspiracies and lies. What pains me is that it’s safely tucked behind a wall of Christianity that shouldn’t be able to save it.
I don’t recognize the faith of my youth anymore if those systems fail to recognize when they ought to speak out. And maybe they have. Maybe I missed it. But turning the other cheek will not save us.
These days I have to push back against regular folks that defiantly claim that undocumented people are sauntering up to the voting precincts to cast their votes.
Who is telling you this oft-repeated lie to make you afraid? Angry?
Let me tell you a story. Undocumented people work very hard to reach the United States. They travel long, hazardous roads and borrow money from family and friends to get here. And I am biased because I know this story well. I love someone with this story. I have sat and listened to others tell me this story. Right or wrong, I understand the whys. I am not here to argue that fact, only to write what I know to be true.
I don’t care whether you demonize them or welcome them (never mind I do care), a high majority are not risking their precarious existence here by attempting to vote in an election they don’t care about. Many I’ve known don’t even step outside the neighborhoods they settle in except to work or shop nearby.
And I know there are instances it does happen, but it doesn’t affect an outcome in any significant way.
Current Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said, “It’s rare (that undocumented people vote) and we aim to keep it rare by enforcing the law.”
Did you know that legal permanent residents in the United States can’t vote? You might know them as green card holders.
A US permanent resident (green card holder) is a non-citizen who is legally allowed to live in the United States indefinitely. They pay taxes, reapply to maintain their status every ten years but cannot vote. Permanent residents have social security cards, drivers licenses and all other forms of documents. They own homes and contribute to society.
These are the folks who’ve come here the “right way.”
But if they tried to walk into their local precinct to vote, they’d be turned away. Immigrants, legal or otherwise, are not monsters. They are humans. Just because someone says they’re monsters and invaders and animals repeatedly doesn’t mean it’s true. It’s time to clear our heads and clarify our thoughts.
There are so many lies being spread that my fingers have lost their way on the keyboard. Yet I persist in sharing the truth in the smallest, most visible way I can.
We are on a collision course with the most meaningful election of our lifetimes. Take a pause in your day to think over what’s being said. Step outside your echo chamber (I do it regularly) and listen to AP, Reuters or Bloomberg. Find an unbiased podcast. Read a local newspaper. Talk to your neighbor. Sit in silence and talk to yourself. Take a deep breath.
Melissa Herrera is a reflective writer who captures the beauty and sorrow of change. With a career spanning 14 years as an opinion columnist and the publication of two books, she resides in Stark County with her husband and four cats. She writes to preserve memories. You can reach her at junkbabe68@gmail.com.