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Update from Mr. Habeas: Custer, SD

Gabe Rottman,
Legislative Counsel,
ACLU Washington Legislative Office
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April 10, 2007

We heard from Habeas again last night, in a letter from South Dakota:

In the Badlands National Park, I got to talking with some sightseers about all the people who had crossed the land before us, searching for hope and a better life. I told my new friends that’s exactly what I’m doing.Looking out over these wonders of natural history, and thinking about the crowded human history that played out across these plains, I felt even more strongly about the need to protect what is ours, our land, our heritage and our history, even with all its bad patches.We may not always get it right, and treat every person in every community with the fairness they deserve. But in the end we always come around, and our laws are the landmarks that guide us through uncertain times.Our rights are just as important as our parks and our monuments—we wouldn’t let them fall to pieces or disappear. They are a part or our landscape and our identity.I wish I could stay longer and take in the natural beauty and think more about the long history here, but like so many of those who passed through here, I know I need to keep moving.History teaches us who we are. You should come see it for yourself. When things are quiet again, I know that I will.Maybe I’ll see you there.Habeas

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