What's In A Name? 'Tis Not As Sweet..

My Wednesday evening trip to the grocery store should have ended with a pleasant outing my family always looks forward to - an ice cream nightcap at our local sweet treat parlor, Oberweis Dairy.  Alas, as I checked out my groceries, I realized I had absentmindedly locked the car with my keys still in the ignition.

While waiting for help, I had time to reflect upon a few important decisions facing me in the near future.  Would it be chocolate marshmallow or buttered pecan?  Will we have time to make it there before closing?  And the Oberweis name, what has it meant to our community?  For those of you unfamiliar with this Midwest icon, Oberweis Dairy originated in the Chicago suburbs and has offered superior quality ice cream that remains unrivaled by the big chains.

A few years ago, proprietor James Oberweis passed his scoop to his son and decided to make his appearance on the political scene, with little success.  Now, with a turn of luck, and perhaps good business sense, Mr. Oberweis suddenly finds himself in a race for a very high profile position, the vacated seat of former Congressman Dennis Hastert.  Rep. Hastert left his post early, necessitating a special election last March.  Oberweis lost the interim election to Rep. Bill Foster (D), but not before a fierce attempt to influence the non-Hispanic minority in the 14th district to vote for his tough-handed immigration policy.

Immigration has always been the issue Jim Oberweis coddled while running for other local offices, and it is little wonder he has not yet claimed victory in this largely Hispanic district.  However, he sank to a desperate low in January when he issued a flyer one week before the primary, blatantly promoting the notion that lurking among the Hispanic community, at that very moment, might be a terrorist with a bomb!

Oberweis is certainly not the first to exploit the trend of increasing intolerance of Hispanic integration into American society.  It is not his conservative position on this issue that is upsetting as it is elements of his campaigning that promote fear and hostility, asserting the urgency to take immediate and extreme measures to halt illegal immigration, lest America be in imminent danger of another terrorist attack.

Call me naïve, but I don't think that Hispanic terrorist is hiding out in the home of the neighbor who has shoveled my mother's driveway and mowed her lawn, faithfully and without expectation of payment, for many years.

Do you think he's likely to be a member of the family that sheltered my niece (and her cat) for several days during a major flood in 1996?  I don't.

That sinister character isn't creeping in the back alley of the street on which one of my bridesmaids grew up, and I doubt if he walked among the fiesta-goers, strangers to us, who enthusiastically invited my children to join theirs and take a swing at the piñata as we happened by in Garfield Park.

I never thought to ask about the resident status of any of our children's friends, although we spent years exchanging dinnertime visits, overnighters, and trips to the mall.

Has anyone read the national news story of Manuel Jesus Cordova, who entered the U.S. illegally, only to be deported because he chose not to abandon a young boy found wandering in the desert?   The boy's mother had just been killed in a car accident.  Instead of fleeing, Mr. Cordova attempted to revive the mother, then stayed with the child, keeping him warm and comforting him until police arrived the next morning.  Something tells me this man was not the terrorist.

History has demonstrated for us what can happen when fear and frenzy overtake sound, evidence-based judgment.  Say what you will about the practical concerns of immigration, but when politicians resort to fear-mongering, I am led to question the validity of the issue.  What the evidence has told me is that the entire Hispanic community has offered us an atmosphere of congeniality and vibrant culture that we should feel delighted to embrace.  We are also told that evidence of their economic contribution (including that of undocumented workers) should not be ignored.

As a matter of policy, the U.S. should address illegal immigration and border security as a humanitarian issue rather than as a territorial invasion, and offer a path to legal status as part of the course.   After all, we have a long tradition of programs aimed at integrating undocumented immigrants from all parts of the world - those invited by our promise that everyone is entitled to the pursuit of happiness.

So, as Jim Oberweis continues his hunt into November for that elusive Hispanic terrorist, this family is urging everyone, from every voting district in the U.S., to support liberty and justice for all, and favor a focus on the truly urgent issues facing us this election year.

Oh, yes!  I almost forgot to tell you how the evening ended.  A nice young couple in the parking lot allowed me to use their cell phone to call for help.  When I couldn't reach anyone, the store owner called the police for me.  They arrived an hour later, but that's ok, because the owner waited to close his store until I was safely on my way home at 10 p.m.

Did I mention I was shopping at a wonderful Mexican grocery?  Great produce, low prices, very kind people.

Oh my, you don't suppose…?

Nah.

We never made it for that ice cream stop, and it's just as well.  Somehow, it seems hypocritical to enjoy Dulce de Leche in a Vanilla-only atmosphere.

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