Love in a Time of ICE
1
We’re all just holding hands and walking each other home. —Ram Dass
Now that ICE has arrived in the Triangle, my thoughts turn toward a recent exchange with my friend Ezekiel. He is a Cuban-American pastor in New Jersey and a legal citizen of the United States of America. In late September, he and I were part of a preaching conference in Pittsburgh, which ran all day long and into the evening. I was ready to get back to the hotel, but he asked me to wait for him. My face must have registered my annoyance.
He responded, “I need you to walk with me in case of ICE.”
2
Let us keep fast hold of hands, that when the birds begin, none of us be missing. —Emily Dickinson
It is crucial for each of us to know our rights. I also think of how rights entail responsibilities, namely for others whose rights are compromised.
I think of my daily walks around my neighborhood with my dog. Her nose is to the ground, and my thoughts are often elsewhere. I recognize that it’s a privilege that I don’t have to be hyper-aware of my surroundings. I’m not expecting masked men to jump out of an unmarked vehicle.
3
I tell you this to break your heart—by which I mean only that it break open and never close again to the rest of the world. —Mary Oliver
Barry Lopez once asked, “How do we love in a time of terror?” By terror, he meant “reefs of darkness and walls of despair.” Such overwhelming negative feelings prevent us from doing what we can right where we are. We can’t do everything, but we can do certain things very well. We can organize and educate people about our constitutional rights. We can support nonprofits that advocate for immigrant communities. We can donate food and clothing. We can write to our elected representatives and voice our support for such pro-immigrant statements as “North Carolina is your home as much as ours, and we stand with you.”
And each day, we can give our attention. On my daily walks, I’ve started noticing landscaping crews and hanging out nearby just in case. I wave, smile and thank them.
Today, I walked home from work and texted Ezekiel. He responded right away; he’s safe. I asked him Lopez’s question: How do we love in a time of terror? He responded, “Keep walking together.”
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of the book with Wipf and Stock Publishers titled This Is the Day: A Year of Observing Unofficial Holidays about Ampersands, Bobbleheads, Buttons, Cousins, Hairball Awareness, Humbugs, Serendipity, Star Wars, Teenagers, Tenderness, Walking to School, Yo-Yos, and More. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where he is a student of joy.
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