These words make sense to me, and seem to sum up the feelings of me and my (concededly uninformed) fellow 20-something American friends living overseas. So really, y'all, what's going on over there? Esta tierra es mi tierra, Esta tierra es su tierra, a California, a las islas de Nuevo York...
On a similar line, I read part of Thomas Friedman's (sp?) book The World is Flat which lauds the advances of technology and celebrates the wonders of our current situation of globalization (as someone else explained it, "technology's going to save the world!"). Strangely, a little over a hundred years ago, our country was both extremely isolationist, and had the same attitude toward technology. The two don't necessarily go together, but odd that they are back together again.
9 years ago
5 comments:
So, I added my mildly harsh words on your friends' blog. I hope he doesn't find out that I'm your friend and then not like you anymore, nor do I hope that you won't be my friend anymore.
But, I feel they're words that are needed to be heard.
I MISS YOU!!!!
Gillian -
Not sure if you'll read this here, but I'm afraid you overlooked some important details in your post to my friend's blog. 1. He is an American, and thus your comment about taxation would fully apply to him. 2. He's not looking at the issue through an economic lens (neither am I) but through one of human rights and the concept of citizenship.
Moreover, the purpose of his post did not seem to be about solutions to the immigration issue but rather to present a perspective of those he knows who would like to, legally, visit the U.S. and have a lot of trouble doing so. Granted, this is a perspective informed by time living outside the US, but that does not invalidate his comments or his opinion.
I guess what makes the whole situation more personal to those of us living abroad, is that we are (temporary?) immigrants, who intimately know the difficulties of immigrating legally. A friend of mine was recently arrested in Germany because the French authorities did his paperwork incorrectly. He was absolutely innocent and law-abiding, yet he has a criminal file in Germany now. Some of us living in foreign countries have a natural sympathy for people who are struggling in a similar system.
I know it is far more complicated, and a myriad of economic issues are involved, including taxes, federal/state funding, and how much more expensive my broccolli would be if the man who picked it was paid minimum wage and benefits.
Christ called us to care for the widow, the orphan and the alien, and to me that means that on a personal level we need to be kind and compassionate toward immigrants regardless of how they ended up in our country. As far as how we vote, or what legal measures we support: that is far beyond my expertise. I just know that Jesus told me to love immigrants, and care for them in the same ways that I should be caring for widows, single mothers, and children living without one or both of their parents.
That last sentence should read: "...that I should be caring for widow(er)s, single PARENTS, and children living without one or both of their parents."
Sorry, gentlemen.
Sorry Annie, that we're using your blog as an intermediary...this message is for Jen. :)
Thanks for your comments, Jen. I too care very deeply for the poor and oppressed of the world, and see the need to support those who come to our country in search of a better life (or just to visit friends). The problem is that when we only dwell on the problems, and don't think about any sort of a solution, we are doing nothing, and our good thoughts are all in vain. When we are living in this country, and we are constituents of the governmental powers, we have a voice...more than just a vote! Our congress members DO listen to us (that is their job, after all). If enough people feel strongly about something, we can change our political representatives' viewpoints. It has happened countless times...that's what thousands of people do for a living by being lobbyists.
As Christians, we have a heart for the poor...but we need to have a voice in the world. We need to come up with solutions that others will listen to. We need to make our concerns about human rights known, we need to be fully informed (as this blogger was not on some of the issues he wrote about), we need to let our solutions be known to our political reps, and we need to PRAY for our government. A human rights lens only covers one eye...in order to see clearly, we need to look through the practical economic lens as well as the human rights lens. One cannot be accomplished well without the other.
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