Truth be told, I am feeling lied to and manipulated. I am reading increasingly one-sided rhetoric about how I am supposed to feel, and being made to feel guilty for not agreeing with the so-called “widespread sentiment”. There is something terribly wrong when the “news” is filled with opinion, talk show-like soundbites, and excerpts instead of facts … true facts.
What is the issue here? Is it that families are being separated or that families are being separated while illegally sneaking into the United States? Is it that families are being separated under President Trump, even though families were also separated under President Obama? In truth, families are not “being” separated, as if the goal were to break families apart. Families are becoming separated as a result of the parent being apprehended, due to knowingly choosing to illegally enter the United States.
From what I can gather there is a definite cause and effect at work here. Are families first illegally entering the United States and then be separated or are they being separated first and then illegally entering the country? If they are together when they choose to illegally enter the country, they would remain together if they choose not to break the law. There is outrage over families being separated, but missing is the outrage over families overtly breaking the law to illegally enter the United States.
The thing about cause and effect is that the cause is first. That means if you don’t like the effect, you should focus on the cause, right? The outrage over families being separated after they illegally enter the United States seems to ignore the fact that the parent’s choice to bring their children into a dangerous and illegal situation is what led to their separation. So, why is the responsibility for the family’s union or separation not being laid at the feet of the parents?
Apparently the news media has decidedly chosen to focus not on personal choice and accountability, but on the effects of those choices. Are there not thousands of American children separated from their parents right now, due to the choice of their parent to break the law? When a U.S. citizen breaks the law and is arrested, what happens to their children? Maybe they stay with relatives or maybe they are remanded to foster care of some kind. Surely the children can’t be left on their own when their parent(s) are in the legal system. Why is it any different with illegal aliens?
The tragedy is that the children have to suffer for the choices of their parents. But hasn’t that always been the case? Illegal border crossers do not, by any means, have a monopoly on suffering children. There are crack babies who cry out in pain because of the decisions of their mothers, school-age children removed from their homes and put into emergency placement, and teens scarred by sexual abuse when their parents sell them out for drugs or money. The tears of these children are no different, their pain no less.
When parents know their children can potentially suffer as a direct result of their actions, they must take full responsibility. To enter the United States or any other country illegally, especially when it has been made known that it will not be tolerated, is to bring suffering on yourself and your family. That would be YOU bringing that suffering, not someone else imposing it, no matter how much you disagree with the law or hate the person enforcing it.
I would be remiss if I didn’t speak to the devastating set of circumstances that would bring a parent to the decision to attempt illegal activity with a child or children in tow. I cannot claim to understand that position, reasoning, or mindset. However, I can say that if you are willing to take that risk, you must certainly know that it may not end well. You must, therefore, be willing to accept the consequences the same way you would be willing to accept the perceived reward. Nevertheless, my heart hurts for the pain felt by those choosing to illegally enter the country: it hurts for the parents, the children, the family unit. We are all human and have decisions to make, actions to take, and consequences and rewards to receive. Pain is pain and strife is strife, regardless of the circumstances. However, having compassion for one another and allowing consequences for choices are not mutually exclusive attributes.
Perhaps the better national conversation would involve how to change or adjust our laws to first protect and benefit the American people – both native born and legal citizens – secure our borders, and enforce our laws, while being a compassionate champion of the world’s downtrodden and mistreated, whenever possible.
However, instead of that beneficial type of communication and idea exchange, we are getting emotion-drenched propaganda, slanted and subjective viewpoints and selective reporting. How does this help America? How does it help those attempting to come to our country legally? How does it help legitimate asylum seekers when the system is so backlogged with false asylum claims.
Like in so many other facets of life, bad apples spoil the whole bunch. Unfortunately, too many people have blatantly disregarded the immigration laws of this country by illegally entering, entering under false pretenses, or overstaying. Those charged with making and enforcing the immigration laws have themselves fallen short. In essence, because so many have been allowed to illegally take advantage of this generous nation, a culture of disregard, disrespect, and entitlement has grown to epic proportions. This can be seen by the emphasis on the effects of illegal actions instead of the illegal action itself; and on the feelings, as opposed to the responsibility and consequences.
Stopping the abuses will inevitably affect law-abiding immigrants as they find themselves swept up in the net of zero-tolerance and are faced with intense scrutiny, distrust, and longer wait times. However, once order is restored, the overextended system is relieved of the enormous burden of illegal activity, and the expectation to obey our laws is reestablished, we will once again be able to turn our attention back to the mutually beneficial legal immigration that allows us to care for and share in this great United States of America.
#notafraidtothink #reunifyourcountry #mediabias
EmmSix 