There is more love somewhere.
There is more love somewhere.
I’m going to keep on til I find it.
There is more love somewhere.
– African American spiritual

We are watching a national moral crisis unfold in Minneapolis, and the nation. Today, Alex Jeffrey Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents. On January 7, Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent while seated in her SUV. On January 15, agents shot a man in the leg, reportedly after a car chase. Six people have died in ICE detention centers since start of 2026. Families continue to be forcefully separated and denied rights across the country. We are once again living through historical events where our grandchildren will ask us where we stood.  

“For 25 years, Interfaith America has been proudly nonpartisan. But when given a choice between cruelty and kindness, we will take a side.”   

In the words of Interfaith America Founder & President Eboo Patel, “For 25 years, Interfaith America has been proudly nonpartisan. But when given a choice between cruelty and kindness, we will take a side.”   

In the complexity of our polarized world, leaders committed to bridging divides are understandably careful about taking stances that might alienate important partners, funders, or segments of the public. However, in doing so, we invite another risk which Rachel Kleinfeld cautions in her excellent report on civic spaces: “The canny use of narrative and moral ambiguity plays a crucial role in enabling illiberal forces to close space for civil society.”  In other words, our moral ambiguity can inadvertently create a tool to drive people further apart.  

The correction to this, Kleinfeld suggests, is deepening our commitments to durable principles in both belief and action. Interfaith America CEO Adam Phillips has already diagnosed this moment as a Constitutional stress test – one that is ongoing and — with the events in Minneapolis — dramatically deepening. In his book Confident Pluralism, legal scholar John Inazu describes the role that civil liberties play as an essential component of the infrastructure for pluralism in a liberal democracy. In Minnesota and beyond, we see an expanding use of punitive state power which undermines our civil liberties and attacks the foundations of pluralism in our nation.   

By contrast, targeting and committing violence against individuals because of their skin color, language, personal views, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious commitments erodes the First Amendment; encroaches on civil liberties;  and undermines Interfaith America’s mission of pluralism. 

Responsible leaders and citizens must be clear-eyed in understanding these threats to the founding principles which bind us together as a nation. Immigration enforcement, as a national priority, is not inherently illiberal, undemocratic, or anti-pluralist. By contrast, targeting and committing violence against individuals because of their skin color, language, personal views, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious commitments erodes the First Amendment; encroaches on civil liberties;  and undermines Interfaith America’s mission of pluralism.  For an organization like IA, the connection between civil liberties and pluralism is fundamental.   

At the same time, we should not allow the perception gap to distort our thinking about alignment on these values – when you look at opinion polling, Americans remain committed to the importance of civil liberties.  The government’s actions in Minneapolis are widely unpopular across the nation. There remains a significant majority of Americans who are committed to the principles of pluralism.  Despite the very real threat to civil liberties in this moment, Americans are not deeply divided on these issues.  How Americans will react to the abuses we see playing out remains the open question. 

I’ve been personally inspired by the ways that Minnesotans are working across difference to make their values known in brave and compassionate ways. We’ve seen police officers, doctors, clergy, business leaders, and everyday Minnesotans show up for each other in protection, service, advocacy, and protest.  This is the rhythm of the work to dispel illiberal forces, which rely on division and fear to seize control.  And this is the rhythm of our work at Interfaith America as well, which counters the “us v. them” division to re-establish individual humanity and create a new understanding of a greater “we.”   Our work in civic communities, campuses, and workplaces across the nation is one deeply needed ingredient to combat the scary trends of our time.  We believe that communities coming together across divides illustrate the Best of America – and there is much, much more that needs to be done.   

When I feel angry and bereft at the state of our nation, as I feel in my soul today, I turn to the Langston Hughes’s poem Let America Be America Again. His words echo in my head as a demand and call to action: “O, yes, I say it plain – America was never America to me – And yet I swear this oath – America will be!”    

Americans are showing us – America will be.  

Even as civil liberties are threatened in Minneapolis, American values are also vibrantly alive. Americans are showing us – America will be.  

Mary Ellen Giess is Chief Program Officer of Interfaith America.