You should be extremely upset with the Trump administration for their treatment of our Canadian friends and family. Utahns and Albertans share a history that makes this rift so much more difficult to bear than for most Americans and Canadians, and we need to stand up for our people.
My grandfather was from Cardston and, like many Utahns, my Canadian family were pioneers. They went to Canada, because that was their calling. They settled in Cardston because they were destined to, and when my grandfather came to Utah, it was because he knew that we were of the same culture, and that we would accept him without question and we did.
Where is that kindness that was shown to him? Did we forget who our family is?
My grandfather went on to study botany at BYU before joining the U.S. military to fight fascism in World War II. He marched across France and liberated Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany. After the war, he went on to get a doctorate degree in botany and taught at BYU for the remainder of his career. His name was Howard Coombs Stutz and I am proud to be his grandson. I’m proud to be a Canadian-American.
But right now, I’m angry and my heart is breaking. This rift between our nations is wrong, and the Trump administration is tearing our culture apart. This has nothing to do with politics or international spats, this is our family that the Trump administration is messing with and Utahns have every reason to be outraged. You have permission to be mad, Utah, and I encourage every one of you to express that. Stand up for your people, for your culture. This is who we are and Trump is trying to take that away.
Stephen Atkin, Midvale
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