Today we know that trauma is passed down from parents to children through generations, epigenetically. It is a revolutionary scientific discovery. Perhaps this is why the trauma after 9/11 felt so familiar. But Sikhs had also inherited a story of resilience—a warrior tradition with cultural and spiritual practices that were developed through the centuries. Perhaps this accounts for the fiery courage I saw in Sikh elders determined to live, work, and raise their children in America anyway. If the trauma of violence and oppression is inherited from our ancestors, might we also inherit their
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