As I listened to President Obama address the nation on last week’s tragedy in San Bernardino, California I was surprised and relieved to hear a call for Americans to become active, as opposed to passive, neighbors to one another in this time of tension.
Not only did Obama call into consciousness the fact that the United States was “founded upon a belief in human dignity,” but he reminds viewers that “Muslim Americans are our friends and our neighbors, our co-workers, our sports heroes — and, yes, they are our men and women in uniform who are willing to die in defense of our country.” Throughout his address, I hear him task me with the “responsibility to reject proposals that Muslim Americans should somehow be treated differently.”
Muslim Americans may be my neighbors, but I must also remember that I am their neighbor and I bear a responsibility, as their neighbor, to advocate for their rights -- because #ThisIsWhoWeAre.
Click here to view and share the #ThisIsWhoWeAre campaign on Facebook, which highlights that everyday people are proving that we can live together in peace.
