I have not written
much about political matters over this past year or so. I realize that I have
readers and friends with a wide range of viewpoints and have tried hard to
respect their views and retain those friendships. But I knew I could no longer
remain silent when I saw the headline in this morning’s New York Times:
Stepsister
Yes, Grandma No: US Sets Guidelines for Revised Travel Ban
The Supreme Court has
ruled that any travel ban involving Muslim countries would not be enforced
among foreign nationals who have a close familial relationship with a person in
the United States. But what precisely does “close familiar relationship” mean?
According to a diplomatic cable obtained by The New York Times, “close family”
is “defined as a parent (including parentinlaw), spouse, child, adult son or
daughter, son-in-law, daughter-inlaw, sibling, whether whole or half. This includes
step relationships.” But the document went on to state that “close family”
does not
include “grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces,
nephews, cousins, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, fiancés, and any other ‘extended’
family members.”
I recognize that
grandparents may not be considered part of one's “immediate family.” But the
idea that grandparents are not part of one's “close family” is beyond absurd. If
the first rows at a wedding are reserved for “close family,” does that mean
that the bride’s and groom’s grandparents are left to sit wherever they can
find seats after they have walked down the aisle?
Under our previous
President, Marian Robinson, the mother of the first lady, was often referred to
as the “First Granny.” She moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue after President
Obama’s 2006 inauguration along with her daughter and son-in-law, and played an
active, albeit out of the spotlight, role in the children’s lives.
How can we go from that
model to one in which we do not recognize grandparents as part of a close
family?
Love,
Rebecca
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