by Ruth A. Sheets
How is it the citizens of this country are allowing our government to turn our nation into a hateful, racist, uncaring place, that is, more than usual? How is it a man who did not even receive a majority of the votes cast in the 2016 election gets to make rules that put so many people at risk with no approval by the American people or even our elected representatives?
A few racist liars should not be able to do this to us. Why does Congress sit back and allow these racist liars to set us back more than 50 years in our human response? Why aren't all Senators standing up to Mr. McConnell demanding votes come up on how we are dealing with immigrants, asylum-seekers, and even citizens who happen not to be white, rich, straight males? Are Republicans that scared of everyone who does not fit those categories? It is sure looking that way?
The questions for Republicans and all of us, would you like to have members of your family treated the way we are treating asylum-seekers? Would you like to be treated that way? If either answer is "no," then you need to step up and change, not only your attitude, but your behavior. Activate your humanity, if it is still possible. It seems some people can dismiss their humanity rather quickly and find all kinds of excuses for it and their post-humanitarian stances. Why do so many of us listen to these uncaring persons and allow them to act so horrifically?
Those Republicans and some others have forgotten that the U.S. has a long history of providing refuge to people fleeing violence or persecution in their home countries. Our Statue of Liberty stands for those people and acknowledges our commitment to potential immigrants, despite claims by members of Mr. Trump’s administration to the contrary.
Emma Lazarus’s poem “The Great Colossus” was written in 1883 to help raise money for the pedestal that would hold the gift from France. That is the poem that says “Give me your tired. your poor . . .Send these, the homeless tempest-tossed to me,” among other important words about who we as Americans are. Check it out Trump administration members.
Currently, in our name, the Trump administration is stamping out our tradition of supporting asylum-seekers through various policies aimed at dismantling the asylum system, then, lying about the reasons. The main reasons given, those people are criminals, those people are terrorists, those people are just coming here to have anchor babies. None of these excuses is true beyond a few instances and carries much if any weight with Americans beyond Mr. Trump’s base. But, Trump’s generally uninformed, often racist, misogynistic base is all that matters these days, so these become the “real” reasons. Actually, those reasons are just more lies among the very many this administration has dished out.
What is this administration doing, forcing asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico, a country completely unable to support the numbers of people coming. The forced return to Mexico policy is an appalling attack -- and as taxpayers, we're funding it. Because of this policy, tens of thousands of people are trapped in dangerous conditions while they await court dates inside the U.S., which may never come since there, in Mexico, they can face kidnapping, rape, and even murder. They often lack adequate access to water, food, and medical care. Our own policy has created a humanitarian crisis in northern Mexico.
I can't imagine our founders would have gone along with this. Therefore, as Americans, human beings, we shouldn’t either, and must declare "it must stop!" We can’t depend on Congress since Mr. McConnell cares only for his own power and money, so won’t even bring a bill to end the practice to the floor. Alas, it seems the Supreme Court conservatives (Republicans) don’t care either. There’s not enough money in moving people through the system more quickly. It wouldn’t humiliate and “deter” asylum-seekers sufficiently.
How sad we can’t depend on our elected or appointed officials to have a sense of human caring for anyone but themselves. We need to do better when we elect people. We need to go beyond party when choosing them because one of our parties, Republican, has decided that they have all pulled themselves up by “their own bootstraps.” Anyone else who is struggling just doesn’t have what it takes and deserves whatever they get (nothing from our government).
We hear this argument discussed often when the challenges of poverty or the conditions under which people of color find themselves becomes the topic. That is the excuse to drop one’s humanity in favor of self-serving actions and beliefs.
The reality, where did those guys (mostly men) get those boots and the straps they pulled themselves up by? Who made them? Who showed them how to put the boots on? Who gave them the time to figure out how to even lace up the boots? Who even noticed they were pulling on those straps? Who held them up while they were only standing on one foot grasping the laces? In short, not even those arrogant Republicans on the Supreme and other courts, in Congress and legislatures all across this nation can claim the “I did it all by myself” argument. It is a myth or lie, depending on the point of view.
Asylum-seekers did not leave their homes, face harrowing challenges as they journeyed toward a better safer life because they just wanted some fun. They do not bring their precious children into unbelievable danger because they want to teach their children resilience. They want a chance for themselves and their children to survive and thrive. Isn’t that what we all, even Republicans, want for ourselves and our kids?
If that is the case, our human selves will want to give asylum-seekers relief by picking up the pace and scope of hearings, moving asylum-seekers into the United States where they can be safer and let caring Americans through a range of organizations help them. This could relieve some of the crisis in Mexico, and reiterate that the United States does care and still honors the symbol of welcome, the Statue of Liberty.
