The Land of the Free

The blame game is being played out publicly on social media platforms. At a time when there is distress and anxiety, fear and injustice, people are turning on each other, focusing their emotions on the people closest or most accessible to them. In this current social climate where oligarchy, tyranny and fascist are on regular rotation in our vocabulary, the blame game is misdirected at those who are marginalized and is a tool to distract from the systemic issues that require attention. Most recently, the US President has doubled down on claims of a migrant invasion in Los Angeles, using these claims to justify the ICE raids and the calling out of the National Guard and the Marines in that city on June 5, 2025.

The ICE raids in LA and other cities are a result of the January 20, 2025 Executive Order Protecting the American People Against Invasion which states: “Many of these aliens unlawfully within the United States present significant threats to national security and public safety, committing vile and heinous acts against innocent Americans.  Others are engaged in hostile activities, including espionage, economic espionage, and preparations for terror-related activities.  Many have abused the generosity of the American people, and their presence in the United States has cost taxpayers billions of dollars at the Federal, State, and local levels”.

The responsibility for the current crises in the United States is to be considered with the root causes along with the current realities of the decisions being made by the 47th president and the current administration. Blaming immigrants, transgender people, people of color and others for the problems in the US is disingenuous and does not attend to the history that created the current challenges. The accountabilities for where we are and how injustices are addressed or exacerbated, rest with leaders who are self-interested and have little or no commitment to the common good.

Immigration is not a new issue in the United States, nor is the deportation of undocumented immigrants. Every US president has deported immigrants. While deportations have been conducted, the current administration is deporting without due process and is sending deportees to third party countries that are not countries of origin for deportees. Immigration is one of many issues where human rights are being called into question.

Systemic injustices have been a challenge for many years. These are issues that are pervasive and have root causes that have not been addressed. Systemic racism with its roots in colonialism and white supremacy continue to challenge the existence of people of color. While governments have come and gone, what has remained are the systemic problems that continue to ail and plague communities of color, the poor, women, children and those identified as the marginalized among us. There is a need for direct actions that will eliminate the injustices that are evident in our communities and across the world. Blaming one group in society for the problems that are manifesting around us allows a lack of accountability by lawmakers to flourish.

Blaming the marginalized for the experiences of their lives does not address the problems that are present. Blaming the past administrations does not get us to providing solutions needed for this moment. Blaming each other is not changing anything, and blaming each other is taking time and energy from the attention and effort necessary for the current quest to seek a just world for all.

The call for justice requires the truth about the past if a different future is to be realized. The truth about the present is also to be confronted with the current administration being held accountable for the ways in which it contributes to the disenfranchisement of communities and to the revocation of freedom and human rights in its implementation of current domestic and foreign policies.