I appreciate your desire to be generous and open-minded towards immigrants, but I think you are missing the bigger picture.
First, is this 'a nation of immigrants'?
Most of my ancestors (who came here in the 1600s) were not immigrants because there was no organized country here; they were pilgrims, colonists. The inhabitants here (from whom I also descend) were scattered, disunited tribes, not a single nation. The colonists built this nation from the ground up. 'Immigrants' are people who come seeking entry to an existing nation, according to the laws of that nation. There is also a difference between legal and illegal.
And if we are a 'nation of immigrants' (which I disagree with) does that mean that we are forever bound to accept any and all who seek to come here to live? If so, what does that do to our country -- financially, culturally, environmentally, socially? Will this be a livable nation when we have half a billion inhabitants? Is that doable?
We have to think about what is best for our country; I don't see America as being responsible for all the peoples of the world.
Vanishing American thanks for your post. I appreciate you taking the time to log on and offer a differing view.
To be sure, perhaps I am using the term "immigrants" a bit too loosely. Yes our founding fathers and mothers were indeed pilgrims and colonists. That much we can agree is different.
What I found interesting was your comment, "The inhabitants here (from whom I also descend) were scattered, disunited tribes, not a single nation." Does that mean that because they were unorganized, or better yet, uncolonialized that we reserved the right to take land and resources? Just wondering how that notion has already played out on continents other than our own.
Again, I am not for an "anything goes" immigration plan where we just don't give a rip who comes into the country and how. And while I agree with your last statement in practice, it makes me a bit uneasy. With power comes the responsibility to use it for the good of the human race.
Obviously you have given these things a great deal more thought than I have so I do truly appreciate your insights. We're all on a jounrney and I really enjoy learning from others who have had different expereinces than I. Again, thanks for offering your thoughts!
E
Eclectic Soul,
I echo your thoughts here. There may well be a different response to the question: 'What is best for America?' and 'What is a Christian response to the "problem" of immigration?'
First, surely a Christian response would not include deportation of those persons who are here already, for are we not called to welcome the alien and stranger among us? Again, this might not be the best thing for say, a thriving American economy, but to what extent is a thriving American economy important to God, and to what degree should it be important to us?
Secondly, with regard to the openness of our borders and whether we should be generous in allowing people to come, I am struck by how J.H. Yoder once wrote about the Babylonian exile in the context of Jeremiah 29--that is, in Jer.29 the people of God are told to build homes and work for the good of those among whom they lived, for in this they would come to know the living God. Yoder's take, which I find extremely interesting, was as if God was saying to Israel: "Look, I have long wanted you to be a light unto the pagan nations around you, but you refuse. You only show concern for yourself and wish to hoard the blessing I desire to distribute to others through you. So if you will not go to them, I will then allow them to come here and take you away so that finally you will have to live among those I wish to reach."
Again, I do not consider America to be a "Christian nation," whatever that means, but would not a Christian response to those who seek to earn a living for their families among a country which in fact uses and wastes more of the world's resources by far than any other--should not a sister/brother in Christ's response be a welcoming one? If God's people will not go to those elsewhere in the world who are suffering the poverty we (to at least a significant degree) help create, maybe God will bring them here and force us to have to share. Of course, we could still resist.
jd
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