I’m walking to the bank on the corner of a street in Greenfield. Two women talk behind me.

“She was part of this Zen thing,” one says. “See, they started the Stone Soup Café to feed people and then it moved to Greenfield and it’s just beautiful, so much good food.”

“Who were they?” I hear the other ask.

“I don’t know, but it’s a Zen thing.”

That made my day; that made my week. Almost always, a Zen thing refers to meditation, and Bernie would climb the wall. “It’s not just meditation,” he insisted over and over, and often it felt like he was talking to wide open, snowy fields with no one listening other than an occasional crow, like the above photo. But not this time. This time, a Zen thing was about feeding people. You should have been here, I told him silently as I entered the bank, all smiles. Maybe you are.

In my last post I wrote about the immigrant community here. I didn’t write much about ICE; I’ve never felt at ease with how many of us have made them the monsters of this present moment, devils incarnate. That’s just too easy, folks. These are usually people who need jobs to support themselves and their families. I don’t defend their decisions, only remind you that many of us have made some weird decisions over the years in our own pursuit of a livelihood. Think of what we’ve sold, what we’ve said, what we’ve defended. Think of how and what we consume. ICE is an easy target.

What bothers me more is what goes on behind the scenes even in very progressive communities, like excising the word immigrant from the names of programs, eliminating funding that helps poor people generally simply because they may also benefit immigrants, changing the acronym ESL (English as a Second Language), removing supports from school children and food pantries, often undermining the wellbeing of full American citizens simply because they’re brown.

It’s invisible to most and even banal, easy to ignore because this is being done by our own local governments, members of which, we’re sure, share our values but seem to be concerned about appearing in the crosshairs of a mean-spirited federal government.

Are we getting intimidated? Are we losing the fight? In my last post I wrote that I have faith in us as human beings, and I have faith in the American dream. Too often we emphasize the misery and sadness, and we forget how many people have lived through danger and poverty, and are now building not just their own lives but spreading wellbeing throughout their community.

I met a family whose parents came here legally, landing on a mattress in a single room and nothing else. Over time they added a bed, then a table, then a couple of chairs. Then a small apartment with a kitchenette. They had two children and moved into a bigger apartment. They raised their kids lovingly and strictly. They worked at two jobs a piece and saved money, so that when the house where they rented their small apartment was up for sale, they bought it. They made full use of Salvation Army furniture and clothes, and went on vacation only once over many years.

Now they bought a second house, this time a cozy one-family, figuring that the rentals they get from the other house more than cover their own mortgage, utilities, and taxes. Both kids are in 4-year colleges, one on his way to becoming a pediatrician (we sorely need doctors in the Valley).

“You’re on your way to becoming full-fledged middle-class Americans,” I teased them, and they laughed delightedly.

So many of us get cynical about the American dream, but for people who come from nothing it’s a big, big deal, vulnerable to mockery by those who’ve had it a lot easier. And their work serves not just them but the entire community, adding value to property, local stores and services. That’s how much of this country was built; we often forget, but they never do.

I still remember how proud my parents were, also immigrants who came with nothing, to own their own home and to buy one new car (all the others were antiques, and I don’t mean that in a good way).

I can relate to them, as I relate to the carpenter who came in today for some projects in the kitchen. His brother and father have also worked in this house. He’s proud of how he’s in construction building homes even in today’s frigid 45 mph winds; he’s proud of what he’s building for his family. It was only when I asked him if he ever goes home to visit the rest of the family that he said, very simply, “I can’t.”

Does he bring value to me and to others? Absolutely. Is he taking jobs away from those born here? Not unless you can find born Americans ready to work through the icy winter the way he is, and you don’t. Just ask the farmers and construction workers, they’ll tell you.

Persecuted and threatened (the carpenter’s cousin was deported from New Jersey, he told us), these people are laboring and realizing the American dream under very demanding conditions. They deny themselves so that their children will go to college, and they save every penny in order to send some money back home. They shop at Walmart, rarely eat out, and never do vacations. Slowly, slowly, it comes together for them.

In short, this is not a crying time. It’s the time for faith in what we and others are building, and for many of us it’s the time to give back because our ancestors also needed help. Without their hard work, where would we be? It’s wonderful to report that the American dream is still alive and well—provided we help.

For this reason, I posted an Amazon list of holiday gifts for the children of these families. These are usually the extras the parents can’t afford, even as they live for seeing the surprise and smiles on their children’s faces on Christmas morning. Young people know of their parents’ hardships, you can’t hide it, but how does that compete with dinosaur toys spilling out of a bag, a pink unicorn with glowing eyes, a colorful infant’s play mat, make-up that girls love to try on? It gives joy not just to children, but to their hard-working parents, too.

You’ve bought all but 20 of the  gifts, bless you, but there are still some left. Let’s do a Zen thing and sell out this list. Please buy a gift and bring joy home. Here is the list again. We all thank you from the bottom of our hearts.