Traveling to Philadelphia
What a month! January was not a good month for introverts. My habits of thinking through things carefully and slowly before I can express them has left me spinning in the mud. Just when I think I’ve got a handle on my emotions, another issue comes crashing down on my bubble. I think I need to start an introverts support group…Anyone interested? But this morning with all of the difficult news, I thought it best to start with a story. I think by now you’ve come to expect it.
"Sir come forward…" the TSA agent in Manchester said to me. I approached with a smile and handed him my passport and ticket.
“Where were you born in Germany?” he asked me.
“um.. uh.. Stuttgart” I said, a bit surprised, and a bit flustered…"my dad was in the military.”
“Oh ... an army brat” he said, smiling, waiving me through.
I was going Philadelphia to do some recruiting for the school, interviewing prospective teachers. Ironically enough, I was going to a Diversity Conference on the day the news of the executive order was released, affecting refugees and immigrants traveling to the United States.
The plane landed, and as I left the plane, I grabbed my gate-checked bag from woman wearing a headscarf. I hailed a taxi, and as he greeted me, I realized my driver was of middle eastern descent, I think Iranian. The next morning I had some wonderful conversations with candidates. One was openly gay, one woman was from Turkey, another woman wore a head scarf and was from New Hampshire and another was a gentleman from Atlanta, Georgia. All around me people were engaged and excited to be talking about teaching and the work of schools. As my day had come to an end I hailed another taxi, by this time the uproar had begun, people were protesting in airport. Reports started to come in about people detained, turned around and refused entry. People were hand cuffed, visas taken and some were held without representation. As I settled into my ride, distracted by my Twitter feed, my cabbie broke from his conversation in Arabic and asked me a few questions. He was eager to practice his English and seemed interested for a while, until his phone rang again. Arriving at the airport and after clearing security I bought some peanuts and water in a store before heading to my gate. As I approached the cashier, I could hear a reporter on CNN talking about the ban from JFK. The cashier rang up my total. $12.98! and as I handed him my credit card I looked up at him. His name was Maroud. I smiled, thanked him, and walked to my gate.
I would love to be able to say to you all today that I would have noticed all of these people who helped me along the way on any other day…but I’m not sure that that is true. On this day I was irate, no honestly I was embarrassed, embarrassed for me, for us, and for our country. I don’t know that these people were Muslim or from any of the countries on the list from the executive order and this is not the point really. The point is they are all a part of our country, a country beautifully diverse and welcoming. A country that embraces people from all walks of life, religions, and beliefs. These people and the multitudes the came before them are and have been part of the fabric of our nation, the nation I love.
I am a grandchild of immigrants, My mother's father’s family came to the US through Ellis Island from Sweden; my father's mother’s family came from Canada. I would imagine that the vast majority of us in this room who are US citizens came from immigrants. Truly there are only a few that I know of in this community that are from America; that are Native American. We are from more than 30 countries around the world. We are Muslims and Christians, Jews and Agnostics. We are students here on visas, permanent residents and natural born citizens of the United States of America.
NYC Women's March January 21st 2017 Image courtesy of Jeb Burroughs, jebburroughs.com
This morning I cannot tie this up in a neat bow regardless of how much my introverted self desperately wants to do. But I can tell you that all in our community are safe. I can tell you that the Governor of the State of Vermont has issued a strong statement in support of the rich and vibrant immigrant communities all around our state. I can tell you that our school is confident of the safety of all of our students from all across the globe and that we will do what is needed to assure that for all of us.
This morning I can urge you once again to renew your investment to learn about our history, to dig deeper into your conversations about our government, its three, yes three branches, and our constitution. I can ask that you seek answers, seek clarification and seek common ground. This morning I also ask you to get involved as our democracy works best when it is a representative democracy, a process of action. It does not matter what that action is; for some it may be marching in protest, for others being in thoughtful prayer. Some of you may choose to write letters and others may call elected officials. But one thing all of us can do is to offer our support to one another, with a smile, a hand shake and a simple question. How are you doing? For as I have witnessed in my trip to the city of "brotherly love" it does not take much for us to find a connection to one another. It does not take much for us to see what others may see as they move through our country, and it does not take much for us to realize that what we have here in this community and this state and this nation is worth fighting for.