International Women's Day



I'm a United States citizen. I didn't do anything to earn it, didn't have to travel to get here. I have a small, modest, but comfortable home, large enough for my family of four. I call it small by American standards, but I'm sure many people throughout the globe would call it a mansion.



We have food on our table every night. Even when money is tight, \"no food\" just means we have to resort to the canned tuna or pasta in the back of the pantry.



I can say what I want freely. I can come and go as I please (mostly, as I am a mother). I can dress as I choose and pray without persecution.  



I'm incredibly lucky, which I take for granted too often.



Another woman was born in Syria, her country war torn, she flees for her life. Someone else was born in Mexico. Her children are hungry and in danger. And another woman in North Korea. 



Not one of us chose our circumstances.  I did nothing right to live so comfortably.  They did nothing wrong to suffer so much.



I feel sick and ashamed at the red, white and blue nation of Donald Trump.  How dare we close borders, build walls, turn away those in need. Lady Liberty once stood as a beacon of hope as the \"tired, the poor, huddled masses\" were welcomed to Ellis Island. Today, her hands are tied,  forbidden to lift her arms in a welcoming embrace.  



Have we Americans lost all sense of humanity? Perhaps. We've forgotten our own roots. We are also afraid. And so, we turn everyone outside our hypothetical walls into \"the other\".  



I urge my own people to stop. Stop being afraid. Look. Do we see our own, scared children in the eyes of a refugee child? Do we see our mother in the wrinkled face of a woman who has lost everything? Do we see our sister, who would do anything to get her children the medical help needed? 



We are not so different.  We all just want the same things. To my sisters out there today, all over the world. Please know,  i dont deserve what I have. You are stronger and braver than I could ever be. 



You are in my heart and prayers today. I will fight for you. Just know, in my heart and my home, you are always welcome. 



 

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