As citizens, it is our responsibility to learn from America’s failures, as well as its successes. In the case of President Donald Trump’s executive order barring many refugees and Muslims from entering this country, it appears that we have forgotten that fear and ignorance can motivate the worst in us as a nation.

In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 discriminated against Japanese-Americans based solely on their ethnicity. The current executive order discriminates primarily against those of one religious faith. Once again, this is a failure of our government to live up to our nation’s ideals.

Please join the Friends of Mukai at the Rememberance Day ceremony of Executive Order 9066 at the Mukai House and Garden next Sunday, Feb. 19, to remember those who suffered in the past and to send a message of idealism and solidarity to those suffering now.

— Kay Longhi