Dear [Person-On-The-Other-Side]

Dear [Person-On-The-Other-Side] ,

I hope this finds you well—I really do. I know in the past I have been pretty harsh in my
judgement of you, and I can see now that that is unfair to you. This is one of my great moral
failings: to ascribe negative motives to people who hold opinions I disagree with, which is really just a way to dismiss your arguments without ever having to actually go through them. I don’t really know you—not yet—so it’s not fair to you to summarily dismiss you like that. Not only is it unfair to you, but it is not very productive to any future conversation we hope to have, so it’s doubly bad. So first, I wanted to say that I’m sorry about that. Please know that I am genuinely seeking to repent of this failing, and trying to engage in your actual argument rather than just preemptively ignoring you.

I wanted to write to you to hopefully set up a time for us to meet in person, to have a real
conversation. I know that we do not agree on very much—in fact, we agree on hardly anything. But I still think it is important that we talk. Even though we think we are very sophisticated and modern in the current age, with our internet, iPhones, and robot surgeons, we’re not so distant from our earliest ancestors who did not have all of this technology. Seeing each other face to face, listening to one another instead of reading text on a screen, and physically being able to shake hands remains a powerful pull on the imagination. Humans are social creatures, and no amount of technology could ever change that hardwired part of our brain. Moreover, when we meet in person we might find that there are some things that we actually have in common. A speaker at Citizen University remarked the partisan gulf between ordinary people may be much smaller than the gulf that exists in our elected representatives. Because of structural flaws in our republic, typically it is only the most strident members of both of our respective sides that get elected. Maybe in that respect our representatives aren’t very representative.

One thing that we might have in common is a belief that national politics as a whole is too
separated from the lives of ordinary folks. I do believe that politicians have their own interests that they pursue, as does everyone, and this self-interest can distort public policy. But since we can’t get away from having a government, and a representative government is still better than other forms of government, maybe we should rely less on our representatives to solve our problems for us and instead having more conversations on the local level to fix problems. I liked how one speaker put it: that self-government and democracy is not easy, but actually takes a lot of work.

We are going to have to be willing to speak to one another face to face, to sometimes be
uncomfortable, and really get to know each other and the effect of our policies if we are going to make policy choices that are truly just. This demands that we live and act together as if we are in a community—which is another ingrained human desire.

We can’t go into our conversation expecting to change the other person’s minds—if we do
so then we will not be actually listening to each other but just trying to hear enough words to
fashion a smart counter-argument. Probably afterwards we still won’t agree on things, and this won’t stop either of us from trying to see our particular vision realized. But at the very least we can get a better appreciation for one another, a better understanding of each of our “deep stories”,and a renewed realization that we are more than meets the eye. When we each can see each other as fully human, with our own dreams, hopes, and biases, hopefully that will translate to other people too, and we can see all people as fully human and treat them accordingly. My faith tells me to love my neighbor as myself—all of my neighbors, including you. I am also reminded of the story of Abraham in the Hebrew Bible: despite being the progenitor of three monotheistic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) he never forcibly converts anyone in the region where he lives, nor prays for their destruction. He instead sought to be a blessing to everyone he met regardless of their faith, while also still being true to his own faith. Perhaps there is a lesson there on how to live in today’s age with many competing faiths, both spiritual and political.

How do we change the toxic political attitude of today? We must begin with ourselves—
where others lie, we will tell the truth; where others demonize, we will seek to understand; where others hate, we will love. I suppose meeting you in person and talking things out will be as good a place to start as any. It won’t change the world, but maybe it could help change us. Besides, as the Talmud says, every person is a universe, so maybe that is not so small as we think.

To Home

To home,

I sometimes feel like I never know who or where you are. What do you feel like? I know you lie where the ocean meets land. I have felt you before, that sweet need to belong. All of my “homes” began and ended with the ocean. With warm temperate climates and palm trees growing from the ground, making the sweetest fruit. But “Where are you from?” is now one of the most complicated questions someone can ask me. I think about my answer, sometimes lying, the real answer is so complicated and stressful to me. So I lie, to not explain myself, so as to not have to explain the roots of where I came from, where my bloodline started. Why my nationality does not match my place of birth. “Where are you from?”

My first home is where the hot sun beats down on my body. I am glad to have had the privilege to call you home for so many years of my life. To have my first breathe in a wonderful country full of rich culture and strong traditions. I’m glad for the delicious food and incomparable memories. From the birthdays to the weddings. You will always be my first, but I still feel distant from you, something isn’t right. I don’t feel bonded even though you were everything I knew for 18 years of my life. It never seemed like you were truly mine, even though my roots bonded me to you. Now I can’t come and go as I please. And that’s okay because you doesn’t feel familiar anymore. Maybe I think that you have changed, the lifestyle less inviting. But nothings different. I’ve changed.

I hope you aren’t mad at me, because I moved away. To a home that is much different than you are. She’s definitely rainier, colder and harsher. But she’s given me a different type of opportunity, she’s taught me how to empower myself. She has made me independent and grown. I start to call her my temporary home but I know not to get too comfortable. I will have to leave in a few years when this journey ends. Then what? Where is my new home?

You might become a stranger to me, but I know that I will find you again one day. You won’t just be a feeling, you will be a place. Hopefully a place where my toes can touch the sand again, where I can breathe a sigh of relief that finally I’ve stopped moving. I know wherever I chose to be, I will make it a part of my home. I will make a difference in my community and bridge inequalities when I see them. I don’t have to have a word to define what I imagine my home to feel like.

But maybe I’ll never know you again and that excites me too. I can leave a footprint on many different shores, swim in many oceans. Then maybe I won’t long to belong to just one place, family spread around the world across oceans. And perhaps then I’ll feel a sense of belonging again.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon,

Clarisse

“Hiraeth: (n.) a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past.”

Dear Disability Rights Movement

Dear Disability Rights Movement,

I am truly sorry you were unable to make a presence at Citizen University this year. Your passion, dedication, and fight for justice was missed and could have been an excellent opportunity for growth and inclusion. However, you weren’t there. I am particularly sorry for this because it further perpetuates the message that people with disabilities are not meant to be a part of our society, or, of our lives. Lastly, I am sorry that when I asked why disability rights were not included or discussed to be a part of this years conference that I received a reply that this platform just didn’t fit into the schedule this year. Disability rights is not and has not been viewed as an important enough topic worthy of our time and interests.

I find it more and more interesting that people actively choose to ignore this social issue as if it doesn’t affect one in five people. And this makes me frustrated. No, it makes me angry. People with disabilities are continuously separated and segregated from the rest of society and works to reinforce the idea that people with disabilities are an “other’- a separate entity completely unrelated to the greater public and thus undeserving of advocacy or justice. I want to let you know that you are important. That, while many forces and institutions will continue to cast individuals with disabilities as outsiders, I will continue to keep fighting against and promoting the importance of supporting individuals with disabilities in our communities. This is not an isolated issue- this affects our parents, brothers, sisters, neighbors, teachers, academics, children and adults. People with disabilities are disproportionately represented in prisons. That people with disabilities are funneled into the School to Prison Pipeline because educators view students with disabilities as an inconvenience rather than a person wanting to learn and engage with their peers just as much as any other person in the class. People with disabilities are being paid below minimum wage, often at less than a dollar an hour, because these people are viewed as cheap avenues to receive labor rather than hard working individuals trying to independently support themselves.

I am sorry that you were not viewed as being worthy enough of a topic to discuss when exploring the importance of civic engagement and activism. However, I know that one day this will change. I know that you are important and I know that people with disabilities will continue to suffer and be ignored in our society if no action is taken. One day, it will not be my lone voice that  noticed your absence in groups. Instead, disability will be treated as an important issue worth spending time on because it is. I wish you the best in your fight for a fair and equitable society that equally benefits people with disabilities and I will be there with you every step of the way.

Dear History Textbooks

Dear history textbooks,

Do you realize how much power you have? Your words, stories, and photographs fall in the hands of millions and millions of students every single day. However, depending on the words you choose (or not choose), the stories you tell (or not tell), and the photographs you share (or not share), the understanding of America’s past and present changes. In America today, there is no common set of facts, which means we have not collectively come to a consensus of the truth. Even if we have the same fact, it is evident our reflections of facts don’t align. Truth is resistance when we seem to be living in a post-truth world. Understanding history holistically provides a foundation for understanding struggles, resistances, and contemporary fights for justice.

You have the power to teach about what being a citizen means.

You have the power to teach about our country’s deep scars through the context of race-relations that have shaped today’s social issues and divides.

You have the power to shift the focus of thinking about who is “racist”, to thinking about how people are impacted by racial institutional inequities over time.

You have the power to teach about our country’s leaders in a way that presents their achievements, but also exposes their blind spots and weaknesses.

You have the power to teach about how groups and individuals have fought and attained self-determination, and the importance of doing so today in a time when self-determination has been intentionally destructed.  

You have the power to teach about systemic failures that have resulted in vast racial disparities and how we need to not perpetuate them, but use that knowledge as a rationale for empowerment in communities of color.

You have the power to support students in understanding the growing diversity within our country, so they know that there are limitless possibilities in themselves and the many students sitting next to them throughout their education. And they know that each person sitting next to them - both in school and their future - is valued and worthy.

You have the power to break the growth of normalized hate and discrimination intoxicating the climate through teaching about radical self-love and integrity.

You have the power to teach that power is not a zero sum game, but that there is infinite power in the world and that we all can become powerful and successfully meet the demands we want for a better world.

High school history textbooks, you have fundamental powers in our education, and I hope that you take your role in shaping our understanding of our past and present seriously. The empowerment and potential for meaningful civic engagement of our youth leaders and our country’s future is in your hands.

Dear Michael Moore

Dear Michael Moore,

Your name sounds familiar. Are you a movie star? A radio talk-show host? A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist? There are lots of the latter two here today. Well, you’re someone famous at the very least, right? You must be, for two of the speakers here at Citizen University to say your name without explaining its significance. I guess they assumed that I and the five-hundred and ninety-nine other people in the crowd knew who you are. Because you’re famous.

But the thing is, Michael Moore, I don’t know who you are. I’m about as familiar with your work as I am with “Between Two Ferns” (that Emmy award-winning interview with former U.S. president Barack Obama); gerrymandering; current U.S. president Trump’s Supreme Court pick; and the proper way to contact my congressman to express my concerns. Which is to say that I’m not familiar with your work at all. And perhaps more worryingly, I’m not familiar with the politics of my home country.

I think some subconscious recognition of that ignorance may be why I filled out an application in February to attend this year’s Citizen University. Maybe that’s why I dragged myself out of bed at 6:30 this overcast March morning (a Saturday! During Spring Break!) to bus down to the conference. Maybe that’s why I wrote down your name, along with “Greater Seattle Neighborhood Commission,” “Mobilization Lab,” “Color Lines,” “Fighter’s Table,” and many others in my notebook.

You probably don’t care that I wrote your name in neat, rounded letters or that I used a pen that produces smooth blue lines instead of the crummy, sputtering black tracks pens with oil-based ink leave. I don’t know that you’ll care, but I’m telling you anyway because I care. I want to be able to read what I wrote today – “Michael Moore,” “gerrymandering,” “that viral Tea Party ad Matt Kibbe mentioned”  – so that tomorrow, I can look it all up.

Tomorrow, Michael Moore, I’ll know who you are.

To My Beautiful Black People

To My beautiful black people,

I am sorry that you are constantly targeted and killed. I am sorry that no matter how young or old, you are still followed. The fact that you face police brutality is not a surprise to me yet I cry and I ache every time I see the unfair treatment of you. There are so many documentaries and poems in the world that showcase the unfair treatment of you, yet people don’t listen. There are enough statistics to show that you face discrimination and racism, yet people don’t care.

When I immigrate to America, my family and I were naïve. We were naïve because we believed in the American dream. We believed that if we worked hard, we would be successful. But what is success? We didn’t realize success meant living to see another day. We didn’t realize success meant working hard everyday to show the world that we matter, that we are human beings created in the image of God. “Slavery is gone, racism doesn’t exist,” they said. Is slavery really gone? How is slavery gone when there is mass incarceration of our people? How is slavery gone, when our people are stripped of their rights to vote? Our people fought hard to win us our basic civil and human rights, but do we really have rights?

Most of the things I heard at Citizen University, I have already heard. As a black person myself, I also get followed. I can’t go into a department store without employees tracking my steps. My intelligence is always being questioned. I can’t see people who look like me as I walk through the campus of the UW. Although I am working towards a degree, I don’t know if I can find a job because employers would rather hire white people. Again, I wasn’t surprised to hear from other black people that they also experience these discriminations. The systems are built to put us down, to dehumanize and degrade us. Yet we are more powerful than they think. We will show the world wrong because we are beautiful, smart, kind, and unique. We are more than the stereotypes the world assign us. We are human beings that deserve the world.

Remember to always love yourself and know that you are worthy.

Dear Knowing Oneself/Dear Loving Yourself Radically

Dear Knowing Oneself,

You say it is important to know oneself. To know who you are so much that you can make decisions and move forward; as if knowing could simply make things less confusing or create clarity for your life.

How does one know oneself?

At what point do you think you actually know who you are?

You are a simple phrase that is not meant to do more harm than good. You mean well and it seems simple to figure out. It seems like a realistic way to perceive your life and understand that life is a process it takes to know who you are.

But what if knowing who you truly are does not change anything? Or what if it changes your whole world? Is knowing oneself indicative of making progress and changes that are meaningful within society? Are you able to move forward and make decisions if you do not know who you are? Is this an essential part of achieving greater things in life?

What do you do when you can’t actually know everything about who you are?

Dear Loving Yourself Radically,

How?

Is this the way to begin knowing myself more?

You are very interesting, the thought of loving yourself no matter what any one else says. Encouraging me to be me and love myself for who I am in spite of everyone else. That reclaiming my own power in finding love for myself does not take away from anyone else. That loving myself can be it’s own form of resistance. By loving myself radically, I can add to the infinite amount of power that exists in our world and believe in who and what I am even if no one else will.

I would love to embody you and figure out what it means to do just that. To love myself radically is to forgive my own faults and things I cannot change in my life. To find acceptance in the life I have been given and to find a way to move past the hate that exists in this country. By loving myself I can begin to understand.

Can loving myself radically also be not knowing who I am?