Is anyone else sick over the separation of families at the border? Does anyone else feel hopeless and helpless despite calling, donating, and signing petitions? Or am I just some “bleeding heart liberal” who wants people coming into this country illegally and “stealing all of our jobs” that so many Americans are lining up to apply for? I was able to breathe a small sigh of relief yesterday when I read that Judge Dana M. Sabraw ordered that families separated at the border be reunited within 30 days and for children under 5- within 14 days. Thank God for the ACLU….this is a step in the right direction but still… what a disaster. Let me say this- I GET IT- people are entering the country illegally. But I also get that good innocent people are fleeing their own country’s violence and crime for an opportunity at a better life. They are choosing an arduous and dangerous journey, risking death, for just the CHANCE for something better. Their options are- stay here and die or possibly die leaving, but holding on that they might just have a fighting chance. Can you imagine living in that paradigm? Maybe it’s easier for me because I’m an em-path and an actor by trade, but is that so difficult to get behind? To sit with these people’s circumstances?Wouldn’t any parent want the best possible life for their child? Don’t we all want the best chance at life? Is there not a better way of handling this? I’m not a politician, or a lawyer, or a community organizer; I don’t have an easy solution, but as a decent human being- I can say that what has happened is shameful and will have its place with the rest of our somewhat flawed history. Perhaps instead of a summer vacation to Hawaii or a winter escape to Vail- maybe all these angry Americans should travel to poor crime ridden countries to get a better sense of other people’s lives…or even better- just do a little research. They can actually do it on the computer after they troll us filthy liberals on Facebook.
Can we please stop making America so great?
America IS a nation of immigrants…that’s the deal with America. Remember the Pilgrims? They were basically asylum seekers from England. Unlike today’s asylum seekers who are fleeing violence and crime, they were escaping religious persecution…(Oh and they were also white… so…) Different, but sort of the same. I remember being in Mrs. Korbelak’s 1st grade class in 1981 learning that America is a melting pot . I think we cut out a pattern of a pot and then added all different color “ingredients”… little construction paper squares..and we glued them in there just to make it clear in our minds. I think it should be required that all American citizens take a swab of their cheek and send it into 23 and Me to use science to learn about their ancestry. Quick- before science becomes illegal!!! Immigrants are as American as apple pie. My Dad is an immigrant. My husband is an immigrant. People in my family speak with accents and often in a different language while living in America Gasp! You know why? Because this is America and no one is from here except the Indigenous people who live on little plots of their own land the government “gave” them because our forefathers slaughtered them and wanted the land for themselves. (I’m not sure if this was before or after they celebrated that famous turkey dinner like in my daughter’s Tomi dePaola First Thanksgving book, I’ll have to look that up….) Look, we ARE all immigrants. If you didn’t make the journey here, your Grandparents did or their parents did… somebody came here from somewhere else, ok? I realize this is a 1st grade version of history but just in case my little blog gets all the way to the White House, I want the man in the Oval Office to understand it. Maybe all this history stuff is too confusing and hard to keep up with. I get it… It’s a lot of information.
Legal or illegal, at the heart of every immigration story is the the desire for a better life. Can’t everyone relate to that? This desire for an opportunity to live a good and decent life should not be a privilege reserved only for some. What has me so heartsick is to hear so many people supporting what’s happening – so many Christian people- act in the most Un-Christian way! Remember that saying, What would Jesus do??? Yea..let’s talk about that for a minute….I feel like Jesus would hand these families a bottle of water and a sandwich and say, You are safe… you made it. Take a moment to thank God you and your children didn’t perish in the desert. Lets connect you with the right people and get you on the right path. I mean I’ve never met him- but something tells me he wouldn’t be ripping nursing babies from their mother’s breast. But what do I know…
I don’t know about you but all this greatness is too much. Let’s make America awful again and show some dignity for all human beings. Can we make America despicable again and elect leaders that have respect for the office they hold and have an understanding of our history. Well, I’m going to start by being terrible and daring to be hopeful again. Remember hope? I liked hope. Judge Sabraw’s ruling yesterday gave me hope and I’m going to hold onto it right now.
myunexpectedlifesite 