Monday, November 12, 2012

Immigrant Rights- Bethany Fristad


In class we have been talking about immigrant rights and with the time of the election, the right to vote is a very heavy subject. As I was walking down the streets I was having conversation with different people at their doorstep about the next steps for them to vote. While I was walking from house to house as a Get Out The Vote volunteer, I would meet random people on the sidewalk and strike up conversation. One particular man really moved me. As we began talking I asked him if he was planning on voting. He shook his head and said no. I asked him why he wouldn't be voting, as it was an important duty as a citizen. His response was quiet, but he said, "I can't." I didn't push further than that knowing that he looked as if he might have come from Mexico. I believe that man was not allowed to vote because he was an immigrant. Today as a class we visited a church that is involved with protection undocumented workers. Two 21 year old girls talked about their journey to America when they were only one year old girls, and the struggles that they face today not being documented. They expressed how important it was for us to vote. Alot of times we don't take our right to vote seriously. It is a right that not to long ago, people would die for. It's a privilege that should be taken seriously. 
I talked with an older lady on the street yesterday that said she was not voting because "it's in the Lord's hands. Whoever he wants to be the President, will be." While this is true, voting is an honor for me, and I will appreciate this right for as long as I live.

Bethany Fristad 

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