To the editor:

With CoreCivic threatening to open an ICE detention center in Leavenworth, I’m haunted by a play I did in junior high about Holocaust survivors mentioned in Anne Frank’s diary.

I never imagined I’d look at my notes again for anything other than nostalgia. But here we are.

When plain-clothed agents in unmarked cars tear mothers from their children without a warrant, that’s kidnapping. When those mothers are taken to unsanitary camps, denied due process and held without communication, that’s not “immigration control.” That’s a holocaust.

Cynicism is a luxury we can’t afford anymore. The antidote to despair is action.

Are you an artist? Help design signage for 2026. A numbers person? Draft a strategy to reach undecided voters. A social butterfly? Go to Boots on the Ground Midwest events and help introverted-but-engaged friends network.

Whatever your gift is, use it. The system is designed to make you feel powerless. But tyranny is terrified of an organized, activated community.

Set down your valid critiques of the Democratic party, take a breath, and fight.

Ask yourself, “would I have helped Anne Frank?” If the answer is yes, now is your moment.

What can I contribute?

Who needs that help?

How can you reach them?

These are your next steps.

And if, 70 years from now, a girl in junior high is cast in a play about this era, let her find your name. Let her research your actions. Let you be one of the people she looks up when wondering, “What can I do?”

Sarah J. Robinson,

Lecompton