Wednesday, June 20, 2018

A Statement on Immigration and the Misuse of Scripture


Dear Senator _____ / Representative ______ ,

My name is Dave Clark. My address is 208. S. Brady, Attica, IN 47918. I am one of your constituents.

I am appalled, saddened and angered by the treatment of our undocumented neighbors at the border. This policy of separating minors and babies from parents and criminally charging the vulnerable is cruel and 100% unethical. And especially when this has to do with people seeking asylum here in the United States. We must do better. I feel complicit in the actions of my county, and I want no part in oppressive and unjust treatment or policies. Especially those actions that make the vulnerable even more at risk of trafficking, trauma, and harm.

If we do nothing, we will be on the wrong side of history, perpetuating a great evil, and out of touch with the cries of humanity.

“You can have secure and safe borders, Alleluia, for those who want to provide that. While still maintaining that grand American heritage of welcoming the immigrant and the refugee. That’s just part of America and I don’t want to see that spoiled.”
—Cardinal Timothy Dolan
https://www.facebook.com/CuomoPrimeTime/videos/2281087808793841/

The time is now for all decent people, regardless of political persuasion, to find the "better angels of our nature". Charles Dickens, from whom Lincoln borrowed this phrase, says it much more directly:

“The thoughts of worldly men are for ever regulated by a moral law of gravitation, which, like the physical one, holds them down to earth. The bright glory of day, and the silent wonders of a starlit night, appeal to their minds in vain. There are no signs in the sun, or in the moon, or in the stars, for their reading. They are like some wise men, who, learning to know each planet by its Latin name, have quite forgotten such small heavenly constellations as Charity, Forbearance, Universal Love, and Mercy, although they shine by night and day so brightly that the blind may see them; and who, looking upward at the spangled sky, see nothing there but the reflection of their own great wisdom and book-learning…
“It is curious to imagine these people of the world, busy in thought, turning their eyes towards the countless spheres that shine above us, and making them reflect the only images their minds contain…So do the shadows of our own desires stand between us and our better angels, and thus their brightness is eclipsed." 

Please do all within your power to end this policy of family separation and criminally charging these neighbors who may be undocumented. We live in a country of great abundance. We must learn to better share our resources, or we risk forever living in fear and isolation, with destructive and toxic actions that harm others and also ourselves.

In addition, as an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene, I am sickened by the proof texting of scripture that A.G. Sessions did with his quote of Romans 13. The actions by our government and the attempt to support said actions with the misuse of scripture is a pattern that has existed from the beginning days of our country. A.G. Sessions reached back to days of slavery and beyond, using a privileged and proof texting approach to scripture to support these immoral actions. It is past time to take a stand against systemic injustice and it is past time to stop the misuse of scripture as a scriptural support for these immoral acts and injustices.

I am asking you to do everything in your power to fix our broken immigration system, provide a pathway to citizenship for DACA students and adults, stop the separation of children from their parents at our borders, and call out politicians who misuse scripture to support immoral practices.

Sincerely and earnestly,
Dave

No comments: