Taking the Sign Out of the Window

January 23, 2026

I’ve pondered long and hard about how to continue this blog in 2026. I have an audience, mostly of close friends and family, who read my blog to hear all about my life in Taiwan. I really enjoy sharing my life here with you; as a way to keep in touch, but also keep a record of places I’ve gone and things I’ve enjoyed. It’s hard, however, to want to write about my trips to Singapore and Japan, my recent concerts, and my holidays in light of bigger events happening in the United States and around the world.

I’ve been unsure and nervous about whether politics is something I want to share about here on my blog. However, after listening to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s special address at the World Economic Forum, I decided that I want to share some of my thoughts. Just as my travels and hobbies in Taiwan are a part of my life, experiencing American politics from overseas is also a real, and very potent part of my life.

Prime Minister Carney’s speech calls for countries and companies to “take the sign out of the window,” a reference to an essay by Czech dissident Vaclav Havel, titled The Power of the Powerless. I’ll just directly quote Carney’s summary here, because he articulates the key point of Havel’s essay so eloquently:

Every morning, this shopkeeper places a sign in his window: ‘Workers of the world unite’. He doesn't believe it, no-one does, but he places a sign anyway to avoid trouble, to signal compliance, to get along. And because every shopkeeper on every street does the same, the system persists – not through violence alone, but through the participation of ordinary people in rituals they privately know to be false.

Havel called this “living within a lie”.

The system's power comes not from its truth, but from everyone's willingness to perform as if it were true, and its fragility comes from the same source. When even one person stops performing, when the greengrocer removes his sign, the illusion begins to crack.

Donald Trump has created an image of what America should be: secure borders, affordable groceries, a leader on the world stage, and an economic superpower with America-first foreign policy and domestic manufacturing. The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. On paper, these all sound like great things; things worth placing a sign in your window for. Instead, what we’re seeing play out is intimidation, bullying our allies into submission, the rounding up of anyone deemed “illegal,” the erosion of human rights, the prosecution of political enemies, and obstruction and evasion of justice.

There are countless examples I could point to with regards to Trump’s policy that not only undermine the vision and ideals of our country, but point to a consolidation of power for corporations, the ultra-wealthy, and right-wing Christian Nationalists. I could spend a lot of time talking about so many issues, but today I’ll focus on the recent murder of Renee Good and the aftermath in Minneapolis.

The Murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Resulting Aftermath; ICE Enforcement, Detainment of US Citizens, and Denial of Due Process

On January 7th, 2026, Renee Good was murdered by ICE officer Johnathan Ross in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Within hours, video footage of her murder had circulated online. The White House claims that she was endangering the life of an ICE agent, justifying the use of deadly force. The video evidence suggests that she was not breaking the law and attempting to leave an already tense situation between ICE agents and community members in Minneapolis. She was shot unprovoked, in a situation that certainly did not require deadly force.

Renee Good is just one of countless examples of ICE using unnecessary and extreme force against innocent people, many of whom are American citizens. Shooting people is not ok. Ever. Since Renee Good’s shooting, I’ve seen alarming videos circulating online of people being pulled from cars, students being detained at schools, and the use of threats and intimidation against peaceful protesters. Trump’s actions, through ICE, call into question moral and ethical issues of fundamental freedoms and human rights. Where is due process? Why are we denying people dignity? Why are people being seriously injured and dying at the hands of immigration enforcement? Why are people being denied their rights?

The only answer that I can come up with is that this was never about illegal immigration, this is about power and intimidation. Trump’s vision for a “great” America is a White Nationalist vision, one that excludes immigrants and those who defend them. We are not only seeing an obliteration of due process, but an erosion of free speech. To dissent and speak up now makes you a target, and for officers with “absolute immunity” per Kristi Noem and JD Vance, it’s pretty easy to blur the lines between a legitimate threat to officers’ personal safety and peaceful protest. “Feeling threatened,” whether credible or not, is now a reasonable cause to use violent force.

Trump has now created an atmosphere of true fear in Minneapolis, a city that I called home for parts of college. Schools briefly closed to protect students and their parents who may be targets of immigration enforcement. Restaurants have closed or reduced hours to protect their staff. Neighbors are coming together to support immigrant families who are afraid to go outside, in fear of being detained without due process. Many of these immigrant families are in the United States with legal documentation, or are United States citizens. None of this matters to Trump and his supporters.

And what I fail to understand, despite growing up in the church and several theology classes in college, is how American Evangelical Christians can stand by and endorse what is happening. Some Christians claim that Trump was sent by God. The Jesus that I was taught about growing up welcomes the poor, the sick, the stranger, the weak, and cares and provides for them. Donald Trump is doing the opposite; he is alienating, abandoning, and isolating our nation’s most vulnerable people, citizen or non-citizen.

Abolish Ice. Source: Defend 612 Community Defense Art

On Witnessing All of This From Afar

I’m witnessing everything that’s happening through news feeds and social media. Every time I open my phone, it seems that there’s a new tragedy, a new video of someone being violently detained, a new foreign policy that makes no political or economic sense, a new power move, a new falling economic indicator, a new threat, a new racist, sexist, or homophobic statement, a new twisting of fact and reality for something more sinister and untrue. I’m experiencing an incredibly violent moment in American history, and feel strangely cold to it all. When all I see online is violence and outrage, it’s hard to actually process what is happening and feel outraged myself.

As I’m processing everything that’s happening, I feel the need to answer for my country when people ask; how do I explain why we’re arresting American citizens? How do I explain why we’re denying people healthcare, why we’re threatening to take over other countries, why I grew up doing active shooter drills at school, why people “shouldn’t be scared” when they go to America, why it’s so hard to immigrate to America, and why what’s happening right now is so so wrong. I’m truly at a loss for what to say.

I’m experiencing the current moment in America from over 7000 miles away. I fear for the future of our country. I used to believe that the rule of law would always prevail, but I’ve already been proven wrong. I want to hope that our democracy will hold, but right now, I’m not so sure. I’ve realized that, if I didn’t love America, I wouldn’t care about what is happening. But, and maybe it’s naive, I believe that the principles of freedom and plurality that are present in American ideals have something to them. We are a society made stronger by our diversity. Immigrants build up our communities, they don’t break them down. Due process, freedom of speech, and the voice of the people are important to build a society that serves everyone. America will never be perfect, but I still cling to the hope that one day, we can more fully live out our ideals. It will take time.

The Minnesota State Flag

A real entry into the MN state flag competition, "Laser Loon"

Laser Loon abolish ICE

Briefly, on the Freedom of Speech

Before this moment in history, I would never think twice about sharing my dissenting thoughts publicly. In Trump’s America, I now worry. Will posting this somehow get me flagged in a system as a political dissident? Would I potentially be targeted? Could this impact my ability to re-enter my home country and see my family and friends? Before Trump’s America, this thought would have never crossed my mind. Now things are different.

Yet, I feel it is time to take the sign out of the window, as it were. So here we are. Let’s talk about what’s happening. I’ll talk politics, ethics, theology, economics, all of it. What’s happening in America is not ok. But, our communities will bring us through this time. Take note of Minnesota. Neighbors are showing up in incredible ways for one another. Today, there is an economic blackout and general strike planned in Minnesota. Support the community if you can.

In some sense, I feel that I’m preaching to the choir with this article. I don’t think I have many new insights, or things that haven’t already been said, probably more eloquently, by others. But, this is a very real and potent part of my life right now, so in the spirit of Tales from Taiwan, I’m choosing to share.

With love, hope, and some drops of despair (for the future of my country) from Taiwan,

Miriam