Letter: Don't give in to fear-mongering
Fear has won. False stories on Venezuelan migrants in Colorado or Haitian refugees in Ohio had their intended outcome of scaring enough of the electorate to vote for a party advocating for some measure of ethnic cleansings as a solution to every problem, economic or social, in the United States.
Even before this election, the fear had taken root. A man in Crete attacked his Guatemalan neighbors. A Palestinian-American boy murdered in Chicago due to anti-Arab sentiments endemic in the country. All of this happening in the shadow of El Paso, Pittsburgh and Charlottesville.
We cannot afford this fear. The United States' status as a global beacon is our country's greatest asset. From corporate executives to farm workers, what drives this country forward is hard-working people from all over deciding to come here to become American. Barriers, be it physical or legal or psychological, that restrict this will only restrict our growth. Nativism may have the feeling of a balm in terms of crisis, but it is no cure. It will only make everything worse.
The federal government has power, but it is not omnipresent. It relies on partnerships with state and local governments to enact any policy. If their campaign promises of removing 12 million Americans comes to pass, Lincoln and Lancaster County have the opportunity to choose a side. Will we be complicit in fear, or will we defend our neighbors? We will be judged over our choice during the next four years.
Matt Baldwin, Lincoln
