The law

​The  law
 
It is not unusual in this and other countries to quote religious teachers to justify behavior which is designed to keep power in the hands of a selected group of people.  In the United States there is a long history of using various passages  of the Christian bible to justify abuse of others.   Some examples include:
 

• Laws such as the thumb rule which stated that a husband should not beat his wife or children with a stick larger than his thumb.
• Laws which punished homosexuality between consenting adults with prison time, job loss and other loss of rights as citizens.
• Laws which protected slave owners.
• Laws which came to be known as the Jim Crow Laws.
• Laws which allowed husbands to commit wives to mental institutions for the “sin” of wanting a divorce (often from an abusive husband).
• Laws which continue to jail those suffering with the disease of addiction.

 
Thus, it should come as no surprise that Attorney General of the United States in a speech in Fort Wayne, Indiana on June 14, 2018 was reported by KOCO News and others to have said regarding the separation of children and parents attempting to enter the United States:
 
“I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Roman 13 to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order, “ he said. “Orderly and lawful processes are good in themselves and protect the weak and lawful.”
 
As many commentators have pointed out since the honorable Mr.Sessions quoted from Romans 13, he might also want to address what else St. Paul says in other parts of Romans, Chapters 13 and 12.  As any student of the New Testament knows there have been many books dissecting what is said in the New Testament as well as the Old Testament.  If one is a “biblical scholar” one can certainly find a passage to justify just about any opinion.
 
I will not bore the reader with quoting various “learned  brethren” who have wrote thousands of words agreeing with or disagreeing with Mr. Sessions  defense of the zero tolerance policy towards “illegals”.  Bear in mind that it has been determined by our esteems leaders that domestic violence does not qualify one for political asylum because fear of domestic violence or gang violence does not, in the opinion of the current administration, fit the definition or of persecution.   (One can read thoughts and opinions by legal experts of whether persecution needs to be more broadly defined by Congress.)
 
Personally, in my very simple thought process, it seems axiomatic that:
 

• Families do not risk the lives of themselves and their children by traveling hundreds or thousands of miles in impossible conditions because they feel safe and able to provide for their family in the country they have left.
• We need to make it very easy and simple for those seeking asylum to enter this country legally rather than creating laws and interpretations of laws which automatically create criminals.
• The United States needs to do all that is possible to work with organizations such as the United Nations to address issues of injustice, poverty and all forms and types of violence in all countries.
• The only laws I need to obey are those which are dictated by common human decency, empathy, and what any thinking person knows is morally right.
• If we cannot put ourselves in the shoes of “the least of these” we have no business in any political, social, or religious leadership position.
• If we cannot be humbly grateful for the blessings of our lives because we think we have pulled ourselves up by our own bootstraps we need to look at the accidents of our birthplace, time and the subsequent opportunities available to us.

 
Perhaps Mr. Session, Ms. Sanders, and Mr. Trump could daily recite a portion of the confession contained in the Book of Common Prayer used by many Christian Churches:
 
ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore thou those who are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind In Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.
 
Written June 15, 2018