A place where I can be me

by Paula Sophia
Special Issues Columnist

When I first moved to the Paseo Neighborhood in Oklahoma City in 2001, I was seeking a community where someone like me would be tolerated, where I wouldn’t have to worry about disapproving neighbors, harassment or vandalism. I saw the Paseo as a rich tapestry of diversity where I could entwine myself, becoming a part of a magnificent whole. I was not disappointed.

The Paseo Neighborhood has done more than tolerate me; they have accepted me, have even celebrated me. I love my neighborhood and the community it has become – a haven of progressive ideals and creative, open-minded people.

The desire to find an accepting environment where I can be me, where I can feel safe, has been on my mind again. This time, however, I have been considering a move to a new state, a new city, to a place where people like those in the Paseo have more influence.

But these thoughts cause me great grief. The Paseo has become my home, a place where I’ve lived longer than anywhere else, where I know my neighbors, where I delight in being within walking distance of art galleries and great restaurants. It is a place where everyone knows my name, a place where my children came of age.

My little cottage of a home has cradled my family, my friends past and present. We have laughed there, cried there and we have dreamed there. We have dreamed of Oklahoma City becoming a cosmopolitan Mecca infused with a curious combination of hometown hospitality and big city energy. We have dreamed of a more accepting culture that values education and personal freedom, where we endeavor to offer dignity and opportunity to every human being. Yes, we have dreamed.

I realize that my thoughts about moving are rooted in fear, a fear of the future and what it may bring in the era of Donald Trump, but when I sit on my front porch and wave at my neighbors, when I walk to Sauced on the Paseo or ride my bicycle to the Red Cup Coffee House, I understand the future is not lost. We are still empowered. We still have a voice, and we can still fight for our dreams, for the community we are creating.

I once took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic when I became a soldier in the United States Army. I repeated that oath when I became a police officer for the City of Oklahoma City with the added responsibilities to serve the community with honor, pride, and integrity.

These oaths haunt me even though I fulfilled my service obligations. They haunt me because they didn’t have an expiration date, nor did they have exclusionary policies. They call me to remain vigilant, to lift my voice for justice, and to disobey unlawful commands, to compel my leaders to clarify their orders in the name of maintaining the greatest common good, the greater peace.

In the name of the Constitution of the United States of America, I resolve to do my part to make sure my leaders do not become the enemy of our ideals as a country, to make sure they secure the Blessings of Liberty for Ourselves and our Posterity. After all, if the Paseo becomes an unsafe place for me, where in America will I be free?

Copyright 2017 The Gayly – January 16, 2017 @ 12:30 p.m.