Postcard from Mexico: Watching from a Distance

Even here—on a beach in Mexico—I catch glimpses. Fox News at the hotel gym. Headlines on my phone. ICE raids back in Santa Ana.

I’m not glued to it. But I see it. I know what it means. The disruption, the fear, the silence that follows. It’s familiar, and not in a good way.

What strikes me isn’t the politics—it’s the abandonment of public service principles. No community engagement, no transparency, no sense of proportionality. Just force, framed as action.

It’s easy to forget that legitimacy isn’t automatic. Trust has to be earned, over and over again. That’s the work. That’s the ethic.

Public service isn’t supposed to be a show of strength. It’s supposed to be a practice of care, of competence, of accountability. When those values go missing—even quietly, even far from view—it chips away at something essential.

I’ll be back in OC soon. But even from here, I can feel what’s at stake.