A president for all
By Sami Al-Abdrabbuh
Let me tell you how I came to be a local elected official and a supporter of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
In 2015, inspired by Brandon Stanton, the man who created Humans of New York, I took a train trip from Albany, Ore., to New York City, to expand my photo book. I wanted to interview a diverse range of people outside the small bubble of my lovely college town in Corvallis, Ore. From Oregon, I traveled to Sacramento, Calif., and then on to Salt Lake City, Denver, Chicago, New York and Boston.
I would ask people, “Do you mind if I take your picture and interview you for my book?” More often than not, people would say, “I don’t have anything to tell you that’s worth being in a book.” In no time, however, they would be talking about the most touching stories in their lives. Listening to them, I decided I needed to do something about what was going on in the world. I was thinking of running for office, but I was living in a community where the incumbent congressman is a nice guy and has been in Congress since the year I was born. Running against him seemed impossible.
I asked the people I interviewed, “If you were running for office, what one piece of advice would you give yourself?” The most important thing everyone said was, “Be yourself. Be honest. Be willing to change your mind as you are learning. Be willing to listen.” It was amazing. Everyone said the same thing. Didn’t matter their point of view or political affiliation. Scientists, businesspeople, teachers, writers, tattoo artists.
I thought: Wow, this job description is really easy, so why should I wait? I asked my father about it. He said, “Son, if you want to do it, do it, but make sure you stay true to your values.” Ultimately, I ran for school board and am now chair of the school board in Corvallis.
When Donald Trump, in one of the first acts of his presidency, issued his Muslim ban in January 2017, I felt so offended. I am proud of who I am and what I stand for. I thought: Is this my country? My traveling companion was wearing a hijab. She wasn’t afraid to travel, but I worried.
Now let’s bring this story up to 2020. Every campaign season we say, “It’s the most important election of our lifetime.” I don’t want to be an alarmist, but you look at what’s happening with Trump in the White House — basic human rights violated in ICE detention, public funds diverted to private schools and corporations, the U.S. Postal System under attack, his threat to resist the peaceful transition of power — and you see that our democracy is at risk.
I try not to think about the dangers that the current president poses. I want a president who thinks about us rather than just about himself. I don’t want our children to live in a country where our environment is in danger, our health is in danger and our lives are in danger.
During the fires here in Oregon, my N95 mask was not enough. I rationed the number of trips from my house. I still see ashes at my doorstep. I’m writing this during a lucky day where we’re getting some rain that’s washing away the ashes. Unless we do something about the climate, those fires will keep coming. That’s also why we need a change in this presidential election.
I joined the AFT because I saw the value of a union. I got a 50 percent pay increase because of my union, which explores the data around our employment and then uses the power of numbers to bargain pay raises.
The same idea extends to the school board and the presidency. When you elect a president, you’re electing a president for all. I don’t think Trump understands that. Maybe it’s good that he won’t visit Oregon because he’s just dividing us. He doesn’t understand the requirements of the job.
Joe Biden understands democracy and decency. Whether you’re a class president or president of the United States, the job of a democratically elected leader is to bring people together for the common good.
I pray that Trump will heal and learn, if that is possible. But not on our dime. The executive branch is so powerful — ethics, morals and values should be at the forefront of every decision by the head of this branch of government. I worry that Trump has failed time and time again to prove that he is a reliable or ethical leader. I worry that he is violating the terms of his contract, his oath of office. He seems to be avoiding paying taxes and has been benefiting from the American people for years. We have seen the effect of these failures day in and day out — the divisiveness, the continuous campaigning and the desire to conquer. That’s not the function of the president of the United States. The goal should be peace, not dividing Americans.
I do have hope for a Biden-Harris administration. I believe Kamala Harris strengthens Biden’s ticket in remarkable ways — and that shows strength on his part. Biden knows how to surround himself with good people, he’s a team player, and he understands that a steward of the people needs to know how he can pull together a good team — as opposed to Trump, who isolates and takes down anyone who disagrees with him. President Lincoln brought a “team of rivals” into his Cabinet. You bring onboard someone who’s smarter, stronger or who has a skill you don’t have, to strengthen your team, which better serves the country.
To quote a teacher who recently wrote to me and my colleagues on the school board: “I love my job more than anything in the world. Teaching is my biggest joy in life; it is what feeds my soul. I feel I am being asked to choose between my passion in life, and my life itself, and those of the people I love most in the world.”
That echoes some new AFT poll results, which found that 1 in 3 teachers say the pandemic has made them more likely to leave teaching earlier than planned. Their voices are clear that we need a national-level strategy to address the uncertainties in this pandemic.
Our job on the school board is to give school staff the tools and hope they need, and ways to protect themselves and our students from this pandemic. Imagine how much more important that job is for the president of the United States. This presidential election is so consequential because the behavior we see in the Oval Office directly affects every teacher, every member of the support staff, every healthcare worker, every public employee and every person in this country. It takes a wise person in the White House to deal with these challenges. We need a president for all.
Sami Al-Abdrabbuh is a doctoral candidate in industrial engineering and an instructor of record at Oregon State University. He is a member of the Coalition of Graduate Employees, an affiliate of AFT-Oregon. He also serves as chair of the Corvallis School Board. He is a board member of several nonprofit groups.
Photos by Aaron Newton, top, for the Daily Barometer; Emily Goodykoontz, holding U.S. Constitution; and James Thomas, left.
