Last evening over a weekly dinner we told stories. One of our group was away, collaborating with the American Civil Liberties Union to bring a lawsuit about the sudden border closing and freeze on asylum applications. Another told how a project she was working on had been shut down because it had “women” in the title. Her husband speculated that his job and whole career could be in jeopardy because the nonprofit agency he served had major international collaborations with the US Agency for International Development.
I talked about a recent scare that had come our way when three policemen knocked on our door asking for our housemate, an African who had been granted asylum a year ago.
Read more: Keep cool, do goodThe officers refused to tell us what it was about. Our friend was at work. Of course we assumed the worst—were local authorities cooperating with ICE and trolling for potential deportees?–and so did he. We quickly delivered to him all his documents demonstrating his legal status in case the police came to his workplace. They didn’t, but he and we spent a few days over the weekend in suspense and frantic consultations. It turned out not to be an immigration matter. It involved a friend of his, also an immigrant, and a customer complaint. The officer with whom the two of them eventually spoke was considerate and helpful and all was resolved with no penalties for anyone. Phew! Thank goodness for police officers who do serve and protect.
My observation last night was that all of us around the table, directly or indirectly, were in the vortex of the Trump-Musk hurricane and there would be more to come. My husband and I got our exercise yesterday by hiking over to a local protest, a convenient but bitterly cold 15-minute walk from our house. The protest hadn’t gotten much advance publicity but several hundred people showed up and I have a feeling the protests will grow. Protesting is not my favorite thing to do—you have to reduce matters to slogans and there is just too much going on, moving too fast. What do you focus on? My favorite sign is pictured below, held by a teenage girl. One speaker advised us each to focus on one thing rather than worry about it all, and support those who are addressing things we aren’t working on.
My husband has focused on Gaza for the last year and, sure enough, that got swept into the chaos again just when it was sloping toward some kind of resolution. He and I have been walking with asylum seekers for the past five years and will continue to do so. I recently added an English tutoring gig at a local immigrant community center. Thank goodness for organizations like the ACLU, the National Immigrant Justice Center, and We Make Indiana, which we will continue to support.
But what we do doesn’t have to be directly related to “issues.” These times don’t only call for outrage; they also call for sanity, calm, peace, and, above all, love. Where are these forces leading you?
the practical mystic 