by Erlinda Aguiar
My experience has shown me that a community is an interactive group where its members have an impact on each other and that the diversity of its members only contributes to make the community better. I hope that the current political situation being faced by our country can help us realize that in a community all people are interconnected and that all members and aspects of the life in a community are important. I hope that the concept of community and its elements such as the environment and the protection of people’s fundamental rights will become “sexy” to everyone. That means that such terms will be known and understood by all and will be exciting, interesting, appealing and stimulating. The survival of our communities depends on it. We must be interested and moved to action to protect all people in our community. We must find appeal in the protection of our environment because the quality of the air, land, and water where we live is crucial to our survival. It is our right to stand up for the protection of our communities, the people and the environment. This is the time to do it more than ever! Let’s stand up for what’s right and help preserve our communities and all the people who are part of it!
by Erlinda Aguiar
Erlinda is a founding member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Latino Democratic Caucus in Lehigh Count and served on the Environmental Justice Advisory Board of the Department of Environmental Protection. Erlinda lives in Allentown with her family.
(Essays express the ideas of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Alliance.)