The America We Deserve - July 31, 2018

Isra Omar: This country says it was founded on fundamental values of justice, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But these core beliefs are under threat: We're spending more money incarcerating people than educating them, mass shootings continue to terrorize the nation, a wealthy few profit off the destruction of our environment, and children are being caged and separated from their families. These systems of oppression were built by people, they persist because Congress doesn't have the moral clarity and courage to fight and defend our democracy. Ultimately, they've proven unwilling to secure the American promise for our people.
But we can change that. My mom's Ilhan Omar. Twenty-three years ago, in a refugee camp, she was hearing about that American promise: prosperity for all, and hope for a better tomorrow. And when her family got here, they worked hard for that promise. My grandfather worked at the post office, my aunt cared for patients who couldn't afford health insurance, and my mom's been a working person her whole life. From cleaning offices in Bloomington and Richfield, to working at call centers in Minneapolis.
She's always been an organizer. Her grandfather taught her that if you want a certain world, you need to fight for it. She's fought for better wages alongside her union, for civil rights with the NAACP, for healthy foods for our poorest communities, and for a seat at the table -- and a voice, for women like her. Women, like me. And now, she's running for Congress, to continue that fight.
For tuition-free and debt-free college, Medicare for all, housing as a human right, abolishing ICE and private prisi=ons, clean elections that cannot be bought, and an economy that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few. We need a democracy that guarantees a more equitable and just society, that get's us closer to the American promise -- the America my mom believes in; the America we deserve.