Home is Burning
BY RICO CRUZ FROM BROOKLYN, NY
This August I will be marking three transformative years of living in New York. For a lot of that time, I never really felt invested in the issues of this country because I, along with many of my peers from ICP, were too busy working to stay here after graduation. Finding a job as a non-citizen (and keeping it) and at the same time jumping through all the (expensive and increasingly narrowing) immigration hoops is an experience more taxing than I ever imagined.
As I kept my head down, doing what I had to do, I learned more and more about the myriad systemic problems of the United States. I kept thinking to myself “wow, this country has all the wealth, resources and know-how to provide a high standard of living for every one of its citizens, but refuses to do so just because many Americans are racist and xenophobic? You guys stole this land and colonized mine. All you have to do to be great again is to get over yourselves. At least we’re actually poor.”
As an immigrant from a country that kicked off the global trend of disastrous strongman leadership, I, along with millions of Filipinos in the US , have had the unenviable position of watching as both places we call home suffer from dangerous incompetence. From leading Asia in Covid-19 death rates, to shutting down a major source of public information in the middle of a pandemic, and most recently, passing an “anti-terror” bill that criminalizes dissent in any form, when we have so many reasons to.
The main difference though is that America actually has a shot at replacing Trump this November, and finally getting on with the work of lasting, systemic change. Duterte has two years left (Philippine presidents get single, 6-year terms), record high approval, and no clear opposition, with his daughter or someone from his circle replacing him.
So please, America, let this be the moment, finally. Be angry, use your voice. And in November, do the right thing, because whether you like it or not, the rest of the world follows when you do.
