A CRUCIAL QUESTION: IS THIS WHO WE REALLY ARE AS A PEOPLE?

Just beyond heartbreaking. This administration not only repeatedly demonstrates its criminal roots in fascist policies and practices, but also the utter sadism in the brutal ways that it dehumanizes and terrorizes our human sisters and brothers across our country and beyond. Makes my heart hurt. And horrifies and infuriates me! This madness MUST be stopped! ― Molly

A Thanksgiving reflection by Chic Canfora on this heart-wrenching photograph by Carol Guzy of a family's devastation after their husband and father was dragged away by ICE agents -- and a security guard moved to tears by their anguish -- challenges Americans to confront an uncomfortable yet crucial question: is this who we really are as a people?

"This Thanksgiving, one image from Time magazine’s '100 Photos of the Year' has lodged itself in my heart and refuses to let go.

In the photo, a mother and her 3-year-old daughter stand helplessly alone, sobbing for the husband and father taken from them by ICE agents moments before. Just a few feet away -- in a space around the corner that they cannot see -- a [security guard] wipes away his own tears, unable to contain the pain of what he has just witnessed.

Two worlds separated by one wall.

Two kinds of heartbreak bound by the same moment.

Hope standing in the face of despair, each reflecting the other.

In this single frame, America reveals her heartbreaking contradictions: the immense love of a family ripped apart by inhumane policies, and the quiet humanity of an officer who, while he did not choose this pain, is forced to stand in its presence.

It is a portrait of injustice and also a portrait of conscience, the kind that still flickers in places we may never expect.

As we gather on Thanksgiving Day with our own families -- safe, warm, intact -- it is tempting to count our blessings without counting the cost for those who are being denied them.

Freedom is an empty promise in America if it is not extended to all who seek it here. And justice is only a word in our historic documents unless We, the People, insist that it apply to every child who trembles, to every parent who pleads for mercy, to every family who dreams of belonging in these United States.

This image should haunt us all.

At least, it should stir something ancient and honest within us -- that quiet inner voice that knows the difference between law enforcement and cruelty, between compliance and indifference, between what is ordered and what is right in our democracy.

So, on Thanksgiving Day, let us hold close the people we love but hold just as close the truth that our nation needs citizens whose courage is stronger than fear, whose humanity outweighs their loyalty, and whose unrestrained compassion in the face of injustice is nothing less than love in action.

If we do not commit -- today and every day -- to holding our country to a much, much higher standard, then we are simply accepting the fact that THIS is who we really are in America." -- Chic Canfora

Photographer Carol Guzy also reflected on this moment, observing that "sometimes it’s the quiet, unexpected moments that can reach most deeply into the collective conscience of a nation." Guzy recounted the scene moments before this photo was taken: 'Please help me, please help me!' the man’s wife cried. 'Take me too!' she said, as federal immigration agents dragged her husband away. Outside the building, she continued crying as a security guard came to assist her and her two young children. The guard was overcome — as I was — at the sight of the woman’s visceral anguish."

"[T]he most heart-wrenching stories to document are family separations," Guzy continued. "Children are traumatized watching a parent being taken away by masked men in a place they thought they were coming to for due process. My own father died when I was 6 years old, so I understand deeply the eternal hole this loss can leave in a child’s heart. The loss has aftershocks as families struggle without a breadwinner. Whichever side of our deep political divide one sits on, the inescapable reality is that it’s too often spouses and innocent children who are caught in the crossfire of controversial immigration reform tactics."

To read Carol Guzy's entire piece on this photograph on Nieman Reports, visit https://niemanreports.org/carol-guzy-ice-immigration.../

Dr. Roseann "Chic" Canfora is an Assistant Professor / Professional in Residence in Kent State University's School of Media and Journalism. Follow her at https://www.facebook.com/chic.canfora

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To help immigrants who have been arrested or detained, you can support the critical work of the National Immigrant Justice Center at https://immigrantjustice.org/ways-to-help/

If you're looking for ways to take action and counter ICE overreach, supporting civil rights organizations like the ACLU that challenge their tactics in the courts has emerged as one of the only successful means of constraining ICE's rapidly expanding enforcement powers -- learn more at https://www.aclu.org/.../immigrants-rights-and-detention

To help your community prepare to stand up for your neighbors in the face of ICE raids, you can find many grassroots resources on Siembra NC's website at https://defendandrecruit.org/tools-resources

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For books for children and teens about the importance of standing up for truth, decency, and justice, even in dark times, visit our blog post, "Dissent Is Patriotic: 50 Books About Women Who Fought for Change," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14364

For books for tweens and teens about girls living under real-life authoritarian regimes throughout history that will help them appreciate how precious democracy truly is, visit our blog post "The Fragility of Freedom: Mighty Girl Books About Life Under Authoritarianism" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=32426

For children's books that encourage empathy and understanding of Mighty Girl immigrants of the past and present, visit our blog post, "A New Land, A New Life: 25 Mighty Girl Books About the Immigrant Experience" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=12855

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