Letter: Stein’s hyperbole | PostIndependent.com

Letter: Stein’s hyperbole

I am writing to protest Re-1 Superintendent Rob Stein’s use of his position to polarize and breed fear in our community regarding immigration policy. Regardless of his disclaimer that he was speaking at the recent forum as a private citizen, he was sitting on a panel as the superintendent. Further, Dr. Stein has written and spoken publicly enough times on this issue, that such a disclaimer seems disingenuous.

I specifically take issue with Dr. Stein’s assertion that we are living in a totalitarian state and that immigration policy in this country is somehow akin to the Holocaust. To compare the repeal of DACA and the resulting uncertainty that has caused in the immigrant community to the fear of systematic extermination in gas chambers is an insult to the victims and survivors of the Holocaust and hyperbolic in the extreme.

Dr. Stein, I call on you to set an example that avoids hysteria and helps those who look to you for leadership to distinguish between rhetoric and policy, between stump speeches and actual legislation. You have an opportunity to educate students and the community about the political process and the constitutional protections in place in our democratic republic, instead of creating an atmosphere of intolerance in our district whereby anyone who has an opinion that differs from yours is afraid to enter into the debate.

Finally, anyone concerned about preventing totalitarianism should be keenly interested in upholding the constitutional rule of law in our country. That means enforcing laws that are on the books, working to change laws that we don’t like and rejecting overreaches by the executive branch. Regardless of the emotional appeal of DACA, it was an extraconstitutional executive order by President Obama. Hopefully now that the issue is in the hands of Congress, where it belongs, we can achieve a comprehensive and lawfully enacted solution for these young people.

Dendy Heisel

Glenwood Springs

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