1. The Dream Act is passed within the first one hundred days of President Obama taking office. This piece of legislature would legitimize the presence of thousands of our nation’s young people who have lived their entire lives in the shadows of their parents’ decision to immigrate to the USA. These children know no other country than the USA. The Dream Act would only offer legalization to those who have stayed in school and stayed out of trouble. The Dream Act is not a piece of immigration reform, but a relief act (http://www.nilc.org/immlawpolicy/DREAM/dream_basic_info_0406.pdf) (http://sanfelipedejesus.blogspot.com/2007/02/dream-act.html)2. Compassionate, humane immigration reform. A law that will protect those who live and work and pray alongside of us from those who would exploit them. I think especially of those who work as maids and earn $100 for a 72 hour week. Of those who prepare the chickens we eat for less than $2.50 an hour. And with this legislation, although it is perhaps too much to ask for, although never too much to hope for—a conversion of our American hearts from seeing strangers as enemies to seeing strangers as friends who share a profound commonality with us—a heart-felt desire for a blessed future for all of us.
3. Affordable health care for everyone, but starting with the poor. For once.
4. Affordable housing for working families.
5. And, finally, a wish of a truly dream-like quality: a conversion of our national politics, in which we stop trusting arms and military might and begin trusting education and the building up of community resources as the most effective way to enjoy peace and security in our world. Take the example of Greg Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea and make it an international policy.
