Letter from Kathleen Taylor

Do Not Be Indifferent

Although keeping track of what is happening in our country overwhelms most of us, it’s important to remember that terrible things are being done in our names and with our dollars. It’s also important to raise our voices in protest.

The same Republican law passed this summer that is destroying rural hospitals and Medicaid and increasing families’ healthcare costs (things that matter to all of us) also funnels $170 billion to government agencies to detain and deport people. That’s right. Our tax dollars are paying for masked secret police to grab people out of homes and cars and courthouses and workplaces and daycare centers. Instead of being used to feed people (SNAP costs $100 billion/year), our tax dollars are being used to terrorize human beings denied due process of the law.

These actions are not about rounding up criminals and making our country safe; they are about instilling fear among targeted groups and encouraging indifference among the rest of us. Please do not be indifferent. Do not be silent as our neighbors get disappeared by our government. Stand up for democracy and freedom.

Kathleen Taylor
Cherry Valley