I don't remember how old I was when I realized or was told by my parents not to talk about what I hear at home anywhere else. Actually I don't remember ever not knowing that I should be careful lest we all get in trouble with the the Soviet government. When my father brought us to the US, I did not need to take a civics or political science course to understand just how precious the right to publicly disagree with your government really is. When, with the help from a courageous and bighearted American diplomat, we finally arrived in the United States after many years of trying I could not believe we managed to break free. Free from corruption, free from government overreach, and free from its sheer cruelty towards its citizens. Our authoritarian nightmare was over.
Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine that in 2017 words like “fake news,” “disinformation,” and “disloyalty” would enter our everyday parlance. Right here, in the United States. The Land of the Free. Yes, we have had and still have our share of problems. We are not perfect. But upon arriving here I thought that freedom of the press and freedom of assembly were burned into the American psyche. So when Donald Trump started excluding specific well established media and press outlets from his press briefings, my heart sank. When Nazis emboldened by our new leader marched through the streets of my beloved Charlottesville chanting “Jews will not replace us” and caused death and injury to peaceful protesters I was terrified. When first Candidate and then President Trump stood silently by or wore a grin when his supporters at rallies threatened or actually assaulted those who vocally disagreed with his hateful rhetoric, I felt a wave of nausea.
But President Trump’s assaults on immigrants were the last straw that made me decide to run for office. I know state legislatures do not directly deal with immigration laws or reforms. I do not pretend to know what perfect immigration reform would look like. But I do know that we are a nation of immigrants. Americans should not be told to “go home” if they criticize the government. We are home. We weren’t lucky enough to be born to America’s promise, we had to EARN it. My greatest honor in my new home would be to serve my neighbors, improving the lives of those around me. As a child advocacy attorney with years of experience helping families and children in Northern Shenandoah Valley, I know the challenges families in our district face every day. My voice will be one for increasing access to health care, paying our teachers what they deserve, improving technical education, strengthening rural infrastructure, and ending the scourge of gun violence terrorizing our communities. Taking over for my opponent, a consistent Republican vote for inaction and budget cuts, you can also count on me to work tirelessly to defend our basic rights and freedoms. We may think they are indestructible, but they are not. I know, I’ve been there.
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Irina Khanin is the Democratic Candidate for the 29th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. Find her campaign on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and please visit her website at www.Irina4Delegate.com