In the Trump era many Americans may be scared of refugees, immigrants and global involvement, but that fearful message isn’t being accepted in San Diego.
On Thursday three separate news events showed how welcoming, tolerant and global San Diego continues to be at many, many levels.
The first came shortly before 8 a.m. with an announcement that His Holiness the Dalai Lama would give the commencement speech at UC San Diego in June.
“A man of peace, the Dalai Lama promotes global responsibility and service to humanity. These are the ideals we aim to convey and instill in our students and graduates at UC San Diego,” said Chancellor Pradeep Khosla.
The phrase “global responsibility and service to humanity” might draw laughs on Breitbart and conservative talk radio, but for a university ranked among the worlds’s top 20 this is a passionate commitment.
The second example came as San Diego’s business community gathered Thursday afternoon for the 146th anniversary dinner of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The national business community has generally been supportive of President Trump, but our chamber has been outspoken about the need to build bridges, not walls, with Mexico and other countries. The theme of the glittering downtown dinner was “Building Together” and the speaker was Ugandan refugee Derreck Kayongo.
“I would not be here in this capacity if I had not been given a second chance,” said Kayongo, who founded the Global Soap Project and now heads a new civil rights museum in Atlanta. “Ellis Island is exactly the symbol of what it means to be a refugee with a chance.”
The third reminder that San Diego is different came as Kayongo was finishing his talk. More than 500 members of San Diego’s Jewish community crowded into a synagogue in La Jolla to join religious and political leaders in showing support for refugees.
City Councilwoman Barbara Bry told the crowd that it is morally wrong to ban refugees and economically shortsighted because of their later contributions to society. A number of San Diego entrepreneurs were once refugees, she noted, including the future co-founder of Qualcomm, whose family fled Facist Italy.
“I believe it’s our moral duty to offer a safe haven to those fleeing for their lives,” she said. “Where would we be if we closed the door on Qualcomm co-founder Andrew Viterbi?”
Amid the angry and intolerant rhetoric across America, San Diego remains committed to global responsibility and service to humanity.
Chris Jennewein is editor and publisher of Times of San Diego.
