Imagine a country where scientific researchers (in order to have a breath of a chance for their research to continue) must remove words like women’s health, diversity, at-risk, socioeconomic, inequality and equality. In stark contrast, the Constitution of that country lifts up the notion of “equality.” The policy has a devastating effect on research of all kinds.

Imagine a country where leaders order the removal of books at its elite military academies. Many of the targeted books or articles are by people of different races or genders or address topics such as the Holocaust, sexual assault, or even suicide prevention.

Imagine a country known for its founding stories of immigration where the only immigrants being allowed in are white while those who have been vetted and waiting for years in refugee camps are unequivocally barred from entry. Certain white “refugees” are given a fast track.  Those who are denied entry happen to be Black and brown.

As you know, we do not have to “imagine” this county, its president or its leaders. As we evaluate this and other devastating evidence, it is clear that policies supporting white supremacy are thoroughly embedded in the White House.

However, this is also a country where people who are diverse in race, economic background, gender, geography and political orientation, etc. are standing up and speaking out against racism and white supremacy. However, we need far more people to join us! This is not only a fight against racism, it is a fight for democracy.

As President Lincoln famously said (after the deadliest battle of the Civil War), we are a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.” At Gettysburg, Lincoln urged the nation not to let those 50,000 souls (regardless of which side they fought on) die in vain. “The people” does not mean just people with European ancestors, as President Trump’s actions belie. “The people” means all of us.

When white supremacist views take hold in the heart of the White House, in the Department of Defense, and in Congress, “we the people,” regardless of our political party and who we voted for in the past, must use every ounce of power to stand up for our democracy. “We the people” means all the people.

The travesty of Trump’s immigration policy is that our government is jailing people while exhibiting total disregard for equal protection under the law. He is targeting people who are here legally and who are part of our Maine communities. Trump is doing this because he seeks to fuel hatred of “the other.” He is doing this because these families (who have come seeking a safe and better life) are by and large Black and brown. He is doing this because, as history teaches, if you create an “enemy,” as a politician, you will gain power.

Let’s be clear. Trump’s plan to let white South Africans immigrate is not because of his compassion. It ties into a false, racist conspiracy theory that “white” Americans are being “replaced” by hordes of others.

Here in Maine, we are blessed to have incredible, courageous families who have sacrificed everything to come here. Like many Mainers’ ancestors, they want to work and  contribute. And yet, our country is showing its worst — and in the process, diminishing our core principles of equality and justice.

The power of this moment is the power to imagine the majority of Americans joining together to fight for a nation that is “of the people, by the people and for the people.” The American people need to look at the facts, analyze the rhetoric and listen deeply to those who are being targeted.

Shamefully, we can see the devastating effects of white supremacy in our White House and our leaders. But “we the people” can imagine another way forward. Let’s hold onto our democracy — and fight for it.