Tucsonitarian Page 3

Active UUs in the Community

by Margot Garcia

During the worship service on July 22, 2018, we collected 64 index cards with many, many volunteer activities written on them. This is obviously a very active congregation involved in many different aspects of our community.

What impressed me was how many people volunteer at the church to keep our congregation going. There are the members of the Board, committees, choir, AV team, ushers and greeters, the kitchen ministry, worship associates, individuals who prepare worship services and 75th anniversary testimonials, and edit the newsletter, as well as those who served on the ministerial search committee and transition committee, teach in OWL and RE, moderate the spirituality discussion on Sunday mornings at 9, facilitate the writers’ group, take care of the landscaping and building, set up chairs, and drive their friends to church. The Care Team visits with people, sends cards; the office volunteers help out those tasks. The membership team looks after new members. There is the whole group raising money at the auction and rummage sale, and those who manage the finances.

We are a politically active group as well. Fourteen people specifically mentioned attending demonstrations and rallies, writing letters and postcards, phoning elected officials, and signing petitions. Several people wrote letters to the editor of the newspaper and registered people to vote. Many said they gave donations and worked in individual campaigns. Members have run for office (and won!). Perhaps most importantly, as one person wrote, “I vote!”

In the community, we do so many things it is hard to know where to start. We volunteer for specific organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Friends of the Library (4 people), Humane Society, Food Bank, and Cat Hermitage. We serve on boards for our neighborhood associations and non-profit organizations, and serve on city advisory committees. We provide service as tutors and volunteer teachers, give star parties, fill sandbags for folks in the neighborhood, help people in recovery, and work in a refugee center. We write letters to people in detention centers and make beaded bracelets to sell to raise funds for animal rescue. We collect Household Hazard Waste and play piano for assisted living facilities. We pull Buffel grass, lead hikes, and guide tours at the Arizona State Museum. We work at the Food Bank, Ben’s Bells, WILPF, and Sister Jose Center for Women. We usher at music and theater events and stand at peace vigils, as Women in Black or Vets for Peace. We are involved in environmental issues as well; for instance, one person wrote they had spoken at a forum in Farmington, NM about the impact of drilling on Chaco Historic Cultural Park.

As you go about Tucson, you are sure to find another UU contributing to the fabric of our community, and perhaps you will find another person who shares your passion for a particular issue or concern. Just ask the next person you talk to at coffee hour, “What do you do in the community?” and find a person with common interests to connect with.

A Report by the Committee To Protect Journalists (CPJ) (2017)

Fighting impunity should be priority

for Mexican government

By Carlos Lauría

Violence tied to drug trafficking and organized crime has made Mexico one of the most dangerous countries in the world for the press. Since 2010, CPJ has documented more than 50 cases of journalists and media workers killed or disappeared. But in nearly every case of a journalist murdered in direct retaliation for their work, justice remains elusive and impunity continues to be the norm.

......Breaking the cycle of impunity in crimes against the press is the main challenge the federal government faces to restore faith in the judicial system. Reforms to mend the deficiencies of a system that grants impunity for journalists’ killers are vital, but any change will be impossible without the full political will of the current administration. The creation of new prosecutorial bodies, the implementation of protection mechanisms, and the enactment of legal reforms are limited by a lack of strong political will to ensure that these measures succeed. If Mexico is seriously committed to addressing impunity, solving these crimes and ensuring the safety and protection of journalists must become a priority in Peña Nieto’s national agenda. (Mexico's new president takes office this December.)

One Historical Perspective

This Louis Hine photograph shows young workers in the sugar beet fields near Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in 1915. Many had fled the violence of war-torn Europe as World War I broke out. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Fleeing Violence to and in America

Once a "Safe" Haven. Now What?

by Craig Rock

My grandparents fled Russia as World War I began. Two of their children (an uncle and an aunt) shipped over with them. Another aunt was born on the ship coming over. Forty million people would die during that war, at least 10 million civilians. Between 1900 and 1920, 14.5 million people would come to the United States fleeing wars or seeking better economic conditions. Communities like my birthplace, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, or farming communities in Kansas, Nebraska, and elsewhere welcomed these refugees, and with these additional human resources, America grew as an empire. Unfortunately, empires, like power, corrupt, and empires with absolute leaders corrupt absolutely. And here we are today.

We still have many challenges ahead. We as a country progressed somewhat in certain areas, like eliminating child labor, although there are still kids working the fields in certain parts of the U.S. What we did in our early years to American Indians would put our leaders in prison if it happened today. What we did to refugees seeking safety in World War II is a mixed bag of something to be proud of and something we downplayed in history books. And today, the challenges for people fleeing crime and seeking decent housing, healthcare, and education in our poor communities seem insurmountable.

And we now turn a blind eye to our neighbors in Mexico, Central and South America despite how, since 1950s, we interfered in their politics and everyday lives by promoting dictators, drug cartels, and multi-national corporations. And we wonder why refugees knock on our doors pleading for help.

The progressive community quietly debates issues such as white supremacy and abolishing ICE. Some congregations are more open than others in discussing controversial issues. For example, one long-time UU member from another congregation misses the open discussions on divisive issues that she once experienced in UU communities. She opposes abolishing ICE and writes, "My feeling is that much of the chaos may not be due to intentional cruelty, but complete incompetence by U.S. Departments of Health and Services, Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This is due to a government led by political appointees who lack appropriate credentials and experience. That was certainly my experience (while volunteering as a medical professional) in Puerto Rico last September. I think that focusing on waste of taxpayer money and administrative incompetence might actually be a powerful strategy. The problem with focusing solely on the human rights violations is that similar bad things took place during the Obama administration and the Right just throws that right back in the face of the Left. Likewise, I don't support abolishing ICE--first, it's not a policy, it's not a plan, and second, ICE actually has some functions like tracking terrorists and drug traffickers that most Americans would certainly support. I think we need immigration laws and policies--they just need to be clear and administered and carried out competently and efficiently--that would take care of a lot of the problems right there."

Let us hope that, while we debate, we also remember next November, and two Novembers from then. Let there be civil discussion and general acknowledgment about the importance of victory in the fight for the inherent dignity of all peoples, of all colors, and all genders. And we need leaders and followers from all these groups working together, discussing strategy and taking action with their cohorts to form a "more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity." (Check out the article at the bottom of this page from a local organizer who supports shutting down ICE.)

Volunteering as a Spiritual Practice

by Carolyn Saunders

(Reprinted from the September 2016 Tucsonitarian)

One central tenet of the theology of Unitarian Universalism is the concept of interdependence—the interdependent web of all existence. Often we UUs are so busy asserting and protecting our independence as individual members and individual congregations, we overlook the strength we have collectively to achieve great good in the world.

As is true in most congregations and non-profit organizations, here at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson there are never enough funds to hire enough staff to do everything we would like to see done. This is where interconnectedness comes in. We, members and staff, are all in this together. If we want to see UUCT thrive, grow and survive—if we want it to be the force for good that we know it can be—we all must share the work to make this happen.

That is why volunteers are greatly needed in many areas—social justice, religious education, fundraising and governance to name a few. We are called to offer our time and our talents to the service of this church as an expression of our UU faith and principles.

One of the broadest and perhaps most meaningful definitions of volunteering is this, “Doing more than you have to because you want to in a cause you consider good.” The mission statement of this church says we pledge energy and resources to transform ourselves, our community and the world around us. This is our cause. It is easy to complain about the state of the world or of the congregation. But it’s much harder to stop venting and do something about it.

By seeking out ways to be of service and use your talents to benefit others, you are working on a spiritual practice. Volunteering becomes transformative. The simple act of helping others brings powerful benefits to one’s own wellbeing.

Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” If we truly want to see the world change for the better, the first step is to realize that change starts with us. Volunteering in this congregation gives you a platform to help those in need and reach the world that is suffering right in your own backyard. Volunteering is transformative. Volunteering your time and talent is a spiritual practice.

Southern Arizona Sanctuary Coalition organizer AmyBeth shares her reflection on Mijente's #FreeourFuture action on July 2, 2018.

UUs traveled to San Diego to participate in this event.

Love Families; Abolish ICE

"We love our families more than you know; we’ll never leave them alone.

We take the streets ’caus we need you to know, we’ll never leave them alone.”

This refrain, led by the Peace Poets, echoed through the streets as thousands of people marched through the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego, CA towards the Federal Courthouse on Monday, July 2, 2018. Three thousand people from 11 states -- immigrants, children of immigrants, DREAMers and allies -- converged for Mijente’s call to action: Free our Future. We showed up to demand the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) and a vision for a future free of law enforcement that terrorizes communities of color. Operation Streamline was set to begin that day in San Diego, a court process that charges and sentences up to 70 migrants per day for crossing the border. Tucson has hosted Streamline since 2008.

Sixty of us answered the call from Tucson, caravanning to San Diego the day before. We were community members, University of Arizona students, documented, DACA-mented, and undocumented willing to interrupt our lives to bring the message from Tucson: Streamline has no place in our communities.

As I marched that day, I was compelled by the refrain from the Peace Poets. At its root, our purpose and demand are simple, despite the ways that politicians try to complicate the demands from immigrant communities. Immigrant families, like all families, have the right to stay together. They take to the streets to demand the end to the violence towards their families caused by detention and deportation. As the brutality of the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy became clear -- infants torn from their mothers’ breast, 5-year-olds dragged away from their fathers -- people of all stripes began to demand an end to this atrocity. But much of the reporting on this policy missed the wider injustice at play: the government agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its counterpart Customs and Border Patrol, have been levying brutality onto immigrant communities since their inception. In 2003, I.C.E. was created as a xenophobic response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as part of a reorganization of the immigration duties of our country. I.C.E. now has 20,000 employees whose primary duty is to find, apprehend, and deport immigrants unlawfully present in the U.S. The agency was significantly bolstered by the Obama administration. The Trump administration is now using its powers to their logical extent.

For white allies, we are led to believe that the demand to abolish I.C.E. without a replacement is radical. But it only seems so because families of color are valued less than white families. Just look at the system of mass incarceration of black and brown people in our country, with its roots in the enslavement of African people. These demands are only radical because they require a fundamental shift in how our society views criminality. They also require us to accept the ways that white supremacy shapes immigration policy. If faced with the same choices as immigrant families, we white folks would cross every border and break every law to fight for our families.

On July 2, after we marched to the federal plaza downtown, the first of 3 direct actions began: the unfurling of a banner by 10 brave activists from the Westin Hotel. It said, “Free Our Families Now. #StopStreamline.” Meanwhile, a row of clergy and community members blocked the entrance to the federal building that houses offices of the Department of Homeland Security. Then, another group of activists blocked the entrance to the federal courthouse where Operation Streamline was set to begin that day. As they blocked the federal courthouse, one hundred of us took over the ramp leading to its entrance and sat down. Through these actions, we shut down business-as-usual that sanitizes the violence of I.C.E. and court processes that needlessly criminalize immigrants. The activists were willing to risk arrest because of the need to fight for changes in our violent policies. Ten of the activists were arrested, spent the night in jail, and are now facing felony charges for their bravery. In this moment, white allies need to consider the level of risk we will take to fight for families that aren’t our own. This is the kind of solidarity that the immigrant community needs from us.

By joining the #FreeOurFuture action with members of my Tucson community, I had to reckon with my own commitment to follow the affected community in making clear and unfettered demands. Living under the Trump administration, now more than ever, we must stop equivocating and call for the society we want to live in. Lives and families are at stake. So, be bold. Love immigrant families. Fight to Abolish I.C.E.

Want to explore what a nation free from I.C.E. could look like? Read Mijente’s policy proposal. Click here.

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