John Breunig (opinion): Jonathan Blitzer’s take on ‘The Impossible Subject’ of immigration in America
By John Breunig, The Darien Times
Jonathan Blitzer is reaping the harvest of investing time, the seed of trust.
More than 600 guests have just about finished exiting the Hyatt Regency Greenwich after BuildingOne Community’s (B1C) annual benefit breakfast, and Blitzer, the keynote speaker, is signing one last copy of his book, “Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis.”
During Blitzer’s stop on “The Daily Show” last week, host Jon Stewart kicked things off by thrusting the 523-page book on the desk and chaffing, “What are you doing to me? I have a family. I have a life. This is a very long book.”
Given the seven years of reporting that Blitzer invested in his book, it’s a model of efficiency. This guy knows a thing or two about context. One thing the United States is not in 2024 is the adjective in its name. The nation is least united over the very issue that should continue to define it. So, he recognizes that B1C’s ability to draw so many people together in support of immigrants is evidence that it has become a Connecticut beacon.
“Here I am in 2024 and it’s 7 in the morning and there are 600 people here. That’s insane,” he observes. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anything like that. And people turned out with enthusiasm. That was not a sleepy crowd.”