“There is no them. There is only us.” These are the words of the priest and author Gregory Boyle and these are the words we as Mainers need to keep repeating.

Those who have followed the news recently would believe otherwise. President Trump and his leaders, parroting his words, are seeking to demonize the other side — whoever the other side is. We can see it on federal websites. We can see it every day in the rhetoric. We can see it in the mistruths being spread about health care.

But most troubling of all is the dehumanization of immigrants. Let’s be clear, calling persons “illegal aliens” is a way to make people, especially people of color (regardless of immigration status), viewed as less than human and thus pave the way for unjust charges, detentions, systematic cruelty and violence. This is deeply troubling because there is a long history of autocrats strategically demonizing an “enemy within” in order to pit people against one another. 

People of faith and goodwill are standing courageously against this use of racism and hatred of the other, and we need every single voice, heart and action toward this end. Our story as the U.S. is one of seeking, albeit struggling, to live out these words in our Constitution that push us toward “equality” and defending the “Unalienable Rights … of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” for all people.

So what is the most patriotic thing we can do right now? Hold on to the truth that “There is only us.”

Rev. Allison Smith
Harpswell