America's
Christian Hypocrisy Regarding
the
Asylum Seekers at Her Southern Border
by
Pastor Paul J. Bern
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The
headline in this past Friday's Huffington post said it all: “Chris
Cuomo Shreds Hypocrite Christians Who Celebrate Christmas But Reject
Migrants”. In a timely article posted by David Barden on November
29, this journalist quotes the CNN host when he said earlier that
same day that it is a, “....moral imperative for America to
assist members of the migrant caravan”. With
growing numbers of asylum seekers gathering just a stone’s throw
away at the U.S.-Mexico border, the CNN host said that,
“It’s not enough to say that we bear no responsibility because we
didn’t create the problem. Our responsibility comes from the
absolute fact that we have the power to provide a solution here,”
he said. “There’s
a moral imperative here, America does what she can.” With the
holiday season in full swing, Cuomo then pointed out the hypocrisy of
American Christians who celebrate Christmas yet shun migrants. 'No
small irony that Christians are getting ready to celebrate the story
of Christmas, which is the exact story that we are trying to block
out here,' he said. 'The poor and unwanted who wound up bringing the
Savior into this world in a stable, rejected. Just as we’re doing
now. This is who we are now and it must be exposed.'”
Thank
you for the suggestion, Mr. Cuomo, and allow me to help expose this
very thing about my country this holiday season. The truth of the
matter is that Chris Cuomo was spot-on with that statement regarding
the current state of the USA. For a man like myself born in the
1950's, the USA of the early 21st century is
unrecognizable compared to the country where I grew up. We weren't
nearly as spoiled as we are now, and yet we were happier for the most
part. I grew up in a time when air conditioning was considered a
luxury, and where women didn't work unless they wanted to. People
made a lot less money than today, but the daily cost of living was
far less than today, so that didn't make any difference. The first
Ford Mustangs in 1965 had a base price of $1,995.00, ditto for the
Volkswagen Beetles of that time period. The world used to run on
commerce, but today it runs on debt. Commerce symbolized free
enterprise back then, but today's debt is really just the new
slavery. America actually never really ended slavery after the US
civil war, she simply out-sourced it.
If
we go back to the Book of Exodus in the Bible to the time when the
ancient Israelite's were wandering in the desert – after leaving
400 years of slavery behind in Egypt – we find that God warned them
about mistreating foreigners among them. “Do not mistreat an
alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt” (Exodus 22:
21). Foreigners being in the land in which we live goes back at least
3,400 years or more. All our ancestors were foreigners at one time or
another in their lives, dating all the way to humankind's
hunter-gatherer years. Taking that into consideration, that makes the
rest of us either foreigners or the descendants thereof. Now you know
why I have such a problem with those who stand against the asylum
seekers, and particularly those haters who profess to be Christian by
faith. Jesus taught us to “....love our neighbor as we love
ourselves”, meaning (in this case) those who rail against
immigrants and asylum seekers ultimately rail against their own
fathers and grandfathers.
Yesterday's
posting about this matter in Buzzfeed.com had this to say:
One
Reason The US And Mexico Can’t Agree On Having Asylum-Seekers Wait
In Mexico: The Trump Administration Itself Is Divided
The
Justice Department wants asylum applicants turned away without any
vetting of their claims. Homeland Security wants them screened for
fears of staying in Mexico.
WASHINGTON
— “Homeland Security and Justice Department officials are feuding
over a controversial plan that would force asylum-seekers at the
southwestern border to remain in Mexico until their cases are
decided, according to sources close the administration. Department of
Justice officials have been pushing for asylum-seekers at the border
to be immediately returned to Mexico as they arrive at the border,
instead of first undergoing screening for fear of persecution or
torture if they are not allowed in. Department of Homeland Security
officials want asylum-seekers screened for persecution, torture, and
fear before being immediately returned to Mexico, to ensure that
there are no serious concerns for their safety in Mexico. The dispute
highlights the fact that key details regarding the plan are still up
in the air.....”
There
you have it, ladies and gentlemen, right before your eyes. The reason
for the infighting among members of the Trump administration, in one
word, is fear. They're all afraid of a bunch of migrant workers who
simply want to restart their lives, and who want to escape the
rampant violence of the drug gangs in central and south America. They
pose a minimal threat to ourselves, and those who do will be weeded
out, one way or another. Few, if any, of these people will escape
president Trump's dragnet, you can all be sure about that. Rather
than be caught up in an irrational fear of one other, we're charged
by God with the sacred duty to love one another. The apostle John
wrote of this when he said, “This is the message you have heard
from the beginning: that we should love one another.” (1st
John 3: 11) As things stand in 21st century America right
now, there are too many Americans who have forgotten or cast aside
this essential teaching of our Lord and Savior.
And
so as America sings, “Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men”, along
with the rest of the Christmas carols this year, I wish a lot of
people would do what used to be done up until about the 1970's or so.
People used to go Christmas caroling door-to-door, mainly focusing on
the elderly and disabled, and oftentimes the lonely and forgotten. It
was a tradition that dated back centuries, and it needs to be brought
back. Moreover, it needs to be brought to the border at Tijuana,
Mexico where the asylum seekers are being held. If I somehow had the
means, I would charter a plane to San Diego, California full of
people. We would transfer to buses for the remainder of the journey
to the border fence, get out and walk right up to it. Then, once we
were all in place, we would start with ,”Oh Come, All Ye Faithful”
and sing a medley of Christmas carols to all the refugees until we
are all hoarse.
We
could do an hour-long set of Christmas carols, like a song medley, to
warm the hearts of all the refugees, and to let them know that there
are Americans on the other side of that fence who view them as
brothers and sisters in Christ. Never mind nationality and race, just
forget about all that stuff. There needs to be a lot more “Peace on
Earth and Goodwill to Men”, and a lot less rhetoric, bigotry and
vitriol by certain Americans whose chief stock in trade is contempt
for those who are different from themselves. This is particularly
applicable to the wealthy. We have a “moral imperative” to
replace contempt with compassion, to replace bigotry with
understanding, and to substitute love for hate. Perfect love, the
apostle James wrote, drives out fear. OK, since we know that hatred
is based on fear, it is our moral responsibility as Americans –
Christian or otherwise – to understand the origins of our own
fears. Until then, we will be powerless to change ourselves. But if
we consciously engage in love for one another, we can suffocate the
fear right out of ourselves and kill it. So do that first, and you
take the first step down the road to a happier and more fulfilled
life.
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