Did Jesus not teach compassion among fellow men/women? Was Jesus a Nationalist? Did Jesus tell his followers only to love those that are American?
The entire anti immigration movement is so filled with seething hatred. I find it hypocritical that much of the movement on which it is built claims to be Christian. They point figures, make up facts and figures, and believe themselves to be superior than those they consider "illegals"
Have you walked a mile in their shoes? Do you understand why they migrate? Hundreds die hoping to work and support their families... aren't they putting up a tremendous sacrifice in order to care for those they love?
I do not believe the anti-immigration movement follows Christian teachings. I believe it is the work of something else.
What in the world does nationalism have to do with this video or anything that i've ever said on my blog? Amaranthine's comment has underlying hostility and judgement in it that has nothing to do with this video. Anyone who reads my blog can see that i am not a nationalist. i have always been very pro-legal-immigration. i have also always been upset with the fact that it is extremely difficult for an average person to be able to legally enter this country because the waiting list is so long and it is so expensive. That said, it is not at all nationalist of me to be anti-illegal-immigrations because every single other country on this planet is, too. Why is it that the United States is always put under a magnifying glass and expected to bend over backwards for everyone else? Do they bend over backwards for us? We provide more aid than any other country in the world, fight more wars to protect the helpless than any other country in the world, and as a result we are hated. If you want to come to this country, welcome, but you better do it the legal way.
As for the question of whether Jesus was a nationalist... i have no idea, He never said one way or the other, politics wasn't really something He discussed a great deal (much to the dismay of the zealots). Paul taught that Christians should obey the law unless it was in conflict with the teachings of Christ and to render unto Caesar that which is his (i.e. taxes, which is why i pay my taxes, even if i can't really afford to be throwing 40% of my paycheck away, and especially considering i'll never get a dime of it back in the form of the benefits that have been promised). Entering a country illegally is illegal, therefore sinning, therefore going against the teachings of Christ.
But again, immigration is not the issue here, and of course i haven't walked a mile in their shoes, i have no desire to illegally enter another country. i am poor, but you don't see me whining, going on welfare, or trying to sneak to Canada. i am doing the best i can to work and get an education. i have been to Mexico on vacation, i know it is bad, but instead of looking to my government for solutions (they cannot provide any, just look at the stimulus bill for proof), how about taking it up with your own failed government? This blog is about trying to fix the problems in my own country, show some backbone and do the same for your own country. Don't blame the USA for your own country's failings, we didn't do this to you.
Want to know why illegal immigration is cited in the above video? Because when people come here illegally my taxes pay to educate their kids and pay for their healthcare. i don't even have healthcare, yet i am paying for theirs. When people come here illegally, drugs are sold to ten year olds, crime increases, and people start getting kidnapped in Phoenix. When people come here illegally our law enforcement has no way of knowing whether the illegal immigrants are bringing drugs or diseases or wmds in with them, and that is the issue: America can not afford another 9/11.
America was built on the sweat and blood and tears of legal immigrants, we are proud of this heritage. Yes, mistakes have been made, are being made, but two wrongs do not make a right. Do not act like God endorses your sin because other people are sinning... Anyone who enters America illegally will have God to answer to someday, and that is not my fault, that's the fault of the person who sinned.
I have heard the arguments you put forth many times. And I still respectfully disagree.
The people immigrating cannot just "fix" their country. Can you (or anyone for that matter) fix all the problems in ours? Can you single handedly solve our current economic crisis? Much of this argument has pertained to Mexico, where the people DO have a BIG problem with there government. People there are very interested in their politics. And there are social protests, movements, and people working furiously to improve the conditions of their country. Many people are displaced from their homes and are victims of greed from companies that exploit them. Agreements like NAFTA have displaced millions of people and made them homeless. The people do not have control of this.
The gap between rich and poor in Mexico is huge. You don’t try to sneak into Canada because you have no need to. Its not “poor” as in “this sucks, I have no money to go to the movies” or “no money for new shoes,” its “I’m so poor I can’t eat, feed my family, or fix the roof on the cardboard shack I live in.”
They don’t come to live the high life, mooch of the backs of working citizens, or to take advantage of welfare. They come to WORK. How do I know this? I’ve seen it, I’ve met many of them, and they are not all bad people. Yes, there are some bad apples, just as there are bad apples in our society. Most of them are not drug dealers and criminals as Lou Dobbs likes to suggest, and most are just trying to make a better life for themselves. People are getting kidnapped in Phoenix because their elected sheriff is arresting Mexican corn vendors and maquiladoras instead of focusing on real criminals. He is also targeting legal, law abiding citizens, just because they might fit the profile. Yes, I’ve seen it happen.
“Don't blame the USA for your own country's failings, we didn't do this to you.”
Have you ever wondered, when visiting in Mexico, why the American dollar is worth so much more than Mexican currency? It is because those who are working in factories, assembly lines, etc., are working slave wages so that we can live our lives of luxury. 10, 11, 12 hours a day for pennies. Its like that in 3rd world countries around the world. They are exploited. We give aid to disguise the fact that the trade and currency is unfair. People aren’t just lying around fanning themselves and being lazy. They are trying to work, and the jobs they do have do not provide enough to survive. There are explanations to all of these things, available to anyone curious enough to look. There is the reason the United States was once one of the richest countries in the world, and its not the fairytale you think it is. I could go on all day on this topic, as world history is an interest of mine, and I could cite numerous specific examples.
“Anyone who enters America illegally will have God to answer to someday” I’m sure those who entered “legally” (through laws of a foreign country) and murdered indigenous women and children for the purpose of “manifest destiny” will have to answer to God as well. “THE LAW” isn’t God’s law. Did Jesus not violate the laws of his country under the Roman Empire? Isn’t that why he was crucified? Hasn’t the United States had a long history of unjust laws (i.e. slavery, segregation, banning interracial marriage.... thelist goes on) Do you think the violators of those laws will have to answer to God for that?
Take this scenario, a widowed father cannot find work in his country. He has looked everywhere he can, never had the option of furthering his education because he couldn’t afford it, and has nowhere else to turn. He has applied for legal citizenship in the United States, but has been put on a 2 year waiting list before his case is even looked at. He can either A. Let his children starve to death. B. Abandon them at an orphanage or C. Attempt to enter the United States illegally in order to get a job and feed his kid–because it is well known that jobs are available and wages are better. What would you do in this situation?
I was listening intently to the guy and what he had to say until he started ranting about illegal immigration. To me, its ignorance. I personally have known “illegal immigrants” many whom are just here to work, are devout Christians, and would give the clothes off their backs to someone who needed it. Their situations are all different, but with common theme... They are just trying to make it in this crazy world. They don’t live in excess, they don’t want to steal, they’re just trying to make it.
I can’t help but read some of the so called “patriotic” web sites where minutemen call Mexicans cockaroaches and wetbacks and every other foul name they can think of (ie the message board of any immigration news story on ktar.com) They make comments like they should all be lined up and shot, or things of that nature. It breaks my heart. I know, I shouldn’t read things like that, but its just become such a common thing that I stumble upon such bigotry. Plus, I’m a news junkie.
I admit there is underlying hostility in my comment. This is a hot button issue for me.This hostility isn’t a personal attack on you, or at least I didn’t mean it to be. You seem to be a highly intelligent individual, and I have read a few of your blogs and have enjoyed them. Like I said, I just feel very passionately about this subject, for all of the above stated reasons and more. You’re intelligence is probably one of the reasons I felt such an urge to respond to the video, as I wouldn’t waste my time with the people calling Mexicans cockroaches. I know I probably won’t change your viewpoint on this, but felt the need to express why I gave mine.
I am beginning to regret the post I sent earlier. I've come to realize that I'm not changing any minds nor am I getting anywhere in this debate. It is not my place to judge people and their political convictions. You are not going to change my mind and I'm not going to change yours. The world is what it is.
4 comments:
Did Jesus not teach compassion among fellow men/women? Was Jesus a Nationalist? Did Jesus tell his followers only to love those that are American?
The entire anti immigration movement is so filled with seething hatred. I find it hypocritical that much of the movement on which it is built claims to be Christian. They point figures, make up facts and figures, and believe themselves to be superior than those they consider "illegals"
Have you walked a mile in their shoes? Do you understand why they migrate? Hundreds die hoping to work and support their families... aren't they putting up a tremendous sacrifice in order to care for those they love?
I do not believe the anti-immigration movement follows Christian teachings. I believe it is the work of something else.
What in the world does nationalism have to do with this video or anything that i've ever said on my blog? Amaranthine's comment has underlying hostility and judgement in it that has nothing to do with this video. Anyone who reads my blog can see that i am not a nationalist. i have always been very pro-legal-immigration. i have also always been upset with the fact that it is extremely difficult for an average person to be able to legally enter this country because the waiting list is so long and it is so expensive. That said, it is not at all nationalist of me to be anti-illegal-immigrations because every single other country on this planet is, too. Why is it that the United States is always put under a magnifying glass and expected to bend over backwards for everyone else? Do they bend over backwards for us? We provide more aid than any other country in the world, fight more wars to protect the helpless than any other country in the world, and as a result we are hated. If you want to come to this country, welcome, but you better do it the legal way.
As for the question of whether Jesus was a nationalist... i have no idea, He never said one way or the other, politics wasn't really something He discussed a great deal (much to the dismay of the zealots). Paul taught that Christians should obey the law unless it was in conflict with the teachings of Christ and to render unto Caesar that which is his (i.e. taxes, which is why i pay my taxes, even if i can't really afford to be throwing 40% of my paycheck away, and especially considering i'll never get a dime of it back in the form of the benefits that have been promised). Entering a country illegally is illegal, therefore sinning, therefore going against the teachings of Christ.
But again, immigration is not the issue here, and of course i haven't walked a mile in their shoes, i have no desire to illegally enter another country. i am poor, but you don't see me whining, going on welfare, or trying to sneak to Canada. i am doing the best i can to work and get an education. i have been to Mexico on vacation, i know it is bad, but instead of looking to my government for solutions (they cannot provide any, just look at the stimulus bill for proof), how about taking it up with your own failed government? This blog is about trying to fix the problems in my own country, show some backbone and do the same for your own country. Don't blame the USA for your own country's failings, we didn't do this to you.
Want to know why illegal immigration is cited in the above video? Because when people come here illegally my taxes pay to educate their kids and pay for their healthcare. i don't even have healthcare, yet i am paying for theirs. When people come here illegally, drugs are sold to ten year olds, crime increases, and people start getting kidnapped in Phoenix. When people come here illegally our law enforcement has no way of knowing whether the illegal immigrants are bringing drugs or diseases or wmds in with them, and that is the issue: America can not afford another 9/11.
America was built on the sweat and blood and tears of legal immigrants, we are proud of this heritage. Yes, mistakes have been made, are being made, but two wrongs do not make a right. Do not act like God endorses your sin because other people are sinning... Anyone who enters America illegally will have God to answer to someday, and that is not my fault, that's the fault of the person who sinned.
I have heard the arguments you put forth many times. And I still respectfully disagree.
The people immigrating cannot just "fix" their country. Can you (or anyone for that matter) fix all the problems in ours? Can you single handedly solve our current economic crisis? Much of this argument has pertained to Mexico, where the people DO have a BIG problem with there government. People there are very interested in their politics. And there are social protests, movements, and people working furiously to improve the conditions of their country. Many people are displaced from their homes and are victims of greed from companies that exploit them. Agreements like NAFTA have displaced millions of people and made them homeless. The people do not have control of this.
The gap between rich and poor in Mexico is huge. You don’t try to sneak into Canada because you have no need to. Its not “poor” as in “this sucks, I have no money to go to the movies” or “no money for new shoes,” its “I’m so poor I can’t eat, feed my family, or fix the roof on the cardboard shack I live in.”
They don’t come to live the high life, mooch of the backs of working citizens, or to take advantage of welfare. They come to WORK. How do I know this? I’ve seen it, I’ve met many of them, and they are not all bad people. Yes, there are some bad apples, just as there are bad apples in our society. Most of them are not drug dealers and criminals as Lou Dobbs likes to suggest, and most are just trying to make a better life for themselves. People are getting kidnapped in Phoenix because their elected sheriff is arresting Mexican corn vendors and maquiladoras instead of focusing on real criminals. He is also targeting legal, law abiding citizens, just because they might fit the profile. Yes, I’ve seen it happen.
“Don't blame the USA for your own country's failings, we didn't do this to you.”
Have you ever wondered, when visiting in Mexico, why the American dollar is worth so much more than Mexican currency? It is because those who are working in factories, assembly lines, etc., are working slave wages so that we can live our lives of luxury. 10, 11, 12 hours a day for pennies. Its like that in 3rd world countries around the world. They are exploited. We give aid to disguise the fact that the trade and currency is unfair. People aren’t just lying around fanning themselves and being lazy. They are trying to work, and the jobs they do have do not provide enough to survive. There are explanations to all of these things, available to anyone curious enough to look. There is the reason the United States was once one of the richest countries in the world, and its not the fairytale you think it is. I could go on all day on this topic, as world history is an interest of mine, and I could cite numerous specific examples.
“Anyone who enters America illegally will have God to answer to someday”
I’m sure those who entered “legally” (through laws of a foreign country) and murdered indigenous women and children for the purpose of “manifest destiny” will have to answer to God as well. “THE LAW” isn’t God’s law. Did Jesus not violate the laws of his country under the Roman Empire? Isn’t that why he was crucified? Hasn’t the United States had a long history of unjust laws (i.e. slavery, segregation, banning interracial marriage.... thelist goes on) Do you think the violators of those laws will have to answer to God for that?
Take this scenario, a widowed father cannot find work in his country. He has looked everywhere he can, never had the option of furthering his education because he couldn’t afford it, and has nowhere else to turn. He has applied for legal citizenship in the United States, but has been put on a 2 year waiting list before his case is even looked at. He can either A. Let his children starve to death. B. Abandon them at an orphanage or C. Attempt to enter the United States illegally in order to get a job and feed his kid–because it is well known that jobs are available and wages are better. What would you do in this situation?
I was listening intently to the guy and what he had to say until he started ranting about illegal immigration. To me, its ignorance. I personally have known “illegal immigrants” many whom are just here to work, are devout Christians, and would give the clothes off their backs to someone who needed it. Their situations are all different, but with common theme... They are just trying to make it in this crazy world. They don’t live in excess, they don’t want to steal, they’re just trying to make it.
I can’t help but read some of the so called “patriotic” web sites where minutemen call Mexicans cockaroaches and wetbacks and every other foul name they can think of (ie the message board of any immigration news story on ktar.com) They make comments like they should all be lined up and shot, or things of that nature. It breaks my heart. I know, I shouldn’t read things like that, but its just become such a common thing that I stumble upon such bigotry. Plus, I’m a news junkie.
I admit there is underlying hostility in my comment. This is a hot button issue for me.This hostility isn’t a personal attack on you, or at least I didn’t mean it to be. You seem to be a highly intelligent individual, and I have read a few of your blogs and have enjoyed them. Like I said, I just feel very passionately about this subject, for all of the above stated reasons and more. You’re intelligence is probably one of the reasons I felt such an urge to respond to the video, as I wouldn’t waste my time with the people calling Mexicans cockroaches. I know I probably won’t change your viewpoint on this, but felt the need to express why I gave mine.
I am beginning to regret the post I sent earlier. I've come to realize that I'm not changing any minds nor am I getting anywhere in this debate. It is not my place to judge people and their political convictions. You are not going to change my mind and I'm not going to change yours. The world is what it is.
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