Open Letter to the Honorable Steve Womack
Dear Representative Womack:
I received your text telling me that “Under Joe Biden’s policies, nearly 10M illegals have entered our country… .Recently, he took executive action to allow 2,500 people in daily before restricting asylum… ”
You then ask, “Do you think this ‘closes the border?’ Tell me here:” And you provide a link for my response.
I was pleased that my representative might want to know what I think. So I clicked on the link, ready to share my heartfelt opinion on the matter. But you didn’t want to know my thoughts at all. The link merely allowed for me to provide my name, email address, and click “yes” or “no” to answer the question.
It’s a loaded question. Obviously, Joe Biden’s action didn’t “close” the border. The question ought to be “Do you support Biden’s recent executive action?”
Your truncated, twisted survey is a prime example of what is wrong with politics in our country today. Many politicians aren’t asking what their constituents think or want, but manipulating public input to produce the illusion of absolute public support for given issues.
I understand that immigration is fraught with difficulty. But I also understand that unless we are Native American, we are all immigrants—or at least descendants of immigrants—and it was our forebears who shaped the nation we live in.
My paternal grandparents came to this country from Lithuania. They weren’t on a luxury sea cruise. They were trying to start a new life in a land that might provide opportunity and safety. I am ever so grateful they were allowed to stay. I am proud of my heritage, and glad to have been born American.
My husband’s mother came from Germany. I’m mighty grateful for her successful immigration, as well. I never met her, but her son, born American, was the love of my life for 35 years, until his recent death.
When I was in elementary school, I was taught that our country is the great melting pot—that people came here from all over the world to build a good life. My teachers all told me that’s what makes our country so great. And my personal experience bears that out.
I gather you and I don’t share the same vision about immigration. And that’s okay. If you are concerned that the vast number of people trying to cross the border would put undue strain on our legal and welfare systems, I think your concerns are valid. And I accept that many of your constituents likely support the actual closing of the border that your text references.
But please don’t use cheap tactics to exclude the opinions of voters who don’t think precisely as you do. It’s not very sporting, not democratic, and makes it appear that you only care about the constituents that think exactly like you. I’d hate to think that is the kind of representative you are. I’d prefer to think of you as a man who seeks out and considers all points of view.
Of course, in this day and age, it is possible that you didn’t actually send this message at all. That it is a kind of scam, intended to drum up public hatred of people who come to the U.S. from other countries. And if that’s the case, you need to know this is happening so that you can take steps to mitigate the confusion and ill-feelings the scam is generating.
I hope you will encourage a trust of the democratic principles upon which our nation was built as well as a tolerance of all peoples, regardless of their nationality or personal beliefs.