plight we see and heart rendering cries we hear and to watch those families broken apart in real time puts us to a very simple question. are we a nation that accepts the cruelty of ripping children from their parents' arms, or are we a nation that values families and works to keep them together? do we look away or do we choose to see something of ours in our children? he goes on. our ability to imagine ourselves in the shoes of others to say there but for the grace of god go i is a part of what makes us human and to find a way to welcome the refugee and the immigrant to be big enough and wise enough to uphold our laws and values at the same time is a part of what makes us american. after all, almost all of us were strangers, whether our parents crossed the atlantic the pacific or the rio grande. we are only here because this country taught them to be an