Los Cuentos de Nuestra Gente

As a result of the events throughout many parts of this great county, I have been moved enough to write a story. Typically, I don't write very much and usually don't have much to write about. However, I have been reminded of a story that I have been told many times when I was child. I have heard this story from my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, clergy people, and countless others over the 25 years of my life.

Today, I am going to retell this story, but in a different way. In a way that I think it needs to be told today, especially today, because so many of us have forgotten this story and have forgotten the meaning of this story.

Chuy is a man from a place where it is difficult to make enough money to support his family, so he decided to move north, to a country where he could find a job to make money to send to his family who he has sadly left behind. He wants a job to earn money; he is not asking for money to be given to him. He is willing to do anything to earn a chance to provide for his family, whether it is building a bridge, taking out the trash for Halliburton after hours, cleaning and stocking shelves for Wal-Mart, or preparing food for diners. 

He attempted to move north legally, but was denied access because he did not have enough money in his bank account. The reason for his denial puzzled Chuy because the reason he wanted to go north was for that very reason he did not have money. He decided to quietly sneak his way North with the hopes of not being noticed and he succeeded. He made his way to the Northern country; in fact he made it all the way to Dallas, Texas.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck when he made it to Dallas. He was beaten, robbed, and left for death in
front of City Hall in Downtown Dallas. Chuy laid there thinking about his family and the reasons for taking this dangerous journey that has left him in the middle of the plaza dying. Footsteps interrupted the
visions of his life flashing before eyes and he noticed 3 people walking in his direction, a minister, rabbi, and a priest. The 2 men and the woman looked down at Chuy. They wanted to help this man laying there bleeding, but they would not because they feared the consequences of becoming a felon. They also feared the effect it would have on their congregation if their leader were a convicted criminal. Instead, they each said a prayer for Chuy and continue to walk past him. "Chuy" was deeply saddened by what he saw.

Another man walked in Chuy's direction and this man was someone of importance. He was a U.S. Senator from Texas, a man who belonged to a political party that claimed to have fought for the moral values of their constituents. He belonged to a party who has made references in political stump speeches to the same God that Chuy prays to. The Senator did not even look at Chuy as he hurried past the injured man. All the Senator could think about was how it would look helping an illegal after wanting to make it mandatory for a person to register with the Department of Homeland Security before they are allowed to help.  (If the Senator would have gotten his way, Chuy could have bled to death before the Senator filed the paperwork and came back to help.) Besides, the Senator was late to a party where he was going to ask people to give him money, to keep ignoring people who need help.

Chuy saw these people walk past him and started to lose hope in a place that gave him hope, a place that is known for helping the poor, the sick, and the tired. Chuy began to pray and ask God the Father to forgive him for sins, to take care of his family while he was gone, and to forgive those people who did not help in his time of need. When Chuy finished his prayer, he heard what sounded like a huge crowd headed his way. He actually felt the vibration of the crowd coming down the street before he heard them. He was scared that this crowd was going to trample him.

Suddenly, the crowd appeared and it was an enormous. The crowd looked to be about 300,000 to 500,000 people. A crowd this size was surely going to walk all over Chuy, but an amazing thing happened: this huge crowd stopped and helped Chuy. They gathered around in the plaza and spoke for Chuy. Despite the possibility of being arrested or even chastised by others, they stopped and helped Chuy. They spoke out about how Chuy had been treated in his time of need and they spoke out about how it is wrong to make it against the law to help people in need.

I hope you recognized this story. Like I said before, the basis of this story is one I have heard all of my
life.

I was unable to attend the March in Dallas; I was delayed in returning home to Dallas from Houston. 
However, I would like to applaud all the Good Samaritans in Sunday's March. I hope you know that
those who were unable to attend were there with you in spirit, and cheering proudly.

I hope we can continue this march for civil rights, equality, and for justice. I encourage everyone to send a message to Congress and Vote.