my view
Shelter in place. Self quarantine. Work from home. Isolation. Whatever you happen to call it, I have been struggling. The weight of the uncertainty around the global pandemic and what it means for me (yes, I’m being selfish here) has constantly been on my mind. I have turned to my camera to capture this unprecedented moment in our modern history. These are my photos which capture the isolation I feel at times and the current status of life at the Thorn House.
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As our plane approached the Manhattan skyline from the south, I was able to catch a quick glimpse of Lady Liberty standing proudly in the harbor before the plane turned and flew directly over top of the infamous symbol for welcome, liberty, and freedom.
For our final tourist activity in New York City we took a boat tour of lower Manhattan down the Hudson River and East River. It was neat to have a different perspective of the city after excitedly wandering through the forest of buildings for three days.
I was overcome with emotion as the boat approached the Statue of Liberty. Quite honestly, I wasn't expecting to be near tears as I looked up at her mild eyes and her out-stretched torch. I reflected on the history of the countless families who came to this country hoping for a new beginning as they fled oppression. After weeks at sea they were welcomed to their new home by the statue and the words carved into her granite pedestal:
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command the air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she with silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
~Emma Lazarus, 1883
During the 2016 election, these words were on my heart as presidential candidates called to cease the acceptance of refugees from war-torn areas of the world. And now, on January 28, 2017, it seems that these words have become empty and hollow. President Donald Trump no longer extends the "world-wide welcome" promised by Lady Liberty's torch.While Lady Liberty welcomed the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses with her silent lips, President Donald Trump is rejecting the exiles, the refugees, and the immigrants with his loud Twitter tirades.If the United States of America - a nation founded by immigrants - cannot accept these people, who will? Where is the compassion? Where is the hope for new beginnings?
After the circus of the 2016 Presidential Election, appointments to the local transportation board might not seem like a big deal. However, ensuring that my city changes and grows in the correct manner starts with local politics and not with Washington, DC.
There are currently two people vying for votes from Dallas City Council to sit on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Board. One person is an advocate for public transportation; an advocate for providing citizens with mobility options; an advocate for what is best for the city of Dallas. The other person is a lawyer who isn't familiar with DART; someone who has never ridden DART; someone who is self-proclaimed non-expert about DART.
So, here is my letter to my city councilperson:
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