As a member of the Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist congregation, I am saddened about the despair our senior minister, Rev. Alan Taylor, and so many, many others felt when they recently returned from the border. In his Feb. 26 Viewpoint essay in Wednesday Journal [Seeking asylum, and justice, at the border], Rev. Taylor mentions two children: 9-year-old Belen, and 4-year-old Stiven, as well as their father Mario. These children suffer for no fault of their own. It is heartbreaking to see images of children on their refugee journey, trekking in confusion toward an uncertain future. We are a compassionate, not cruel, people. It’s time for policies and practices permeated with cruelty to stop.
That is where you and I come in.
We can do something about this situation on March 17 and Nov. 3. We can elect candidates who honor children by bestowing inherent worth, human dignity, justice, equity, and compassion upon them.
Voting is not merely political. Our vote represents a moral choice. From my perspective, I believe we have a moral responsibility to care for children — all children — when we show up at the polls.
On March 17 and Nov. 3, let us remember the children.
Anne White
Oak Park
