Witness…
An essay…
I confess that it is hard to write today. As an immigrant, as a citizen, as a human being, and as a Christian, it is very hard for me to not think about people and what has been happening. Though I am a US citizen, I feel the weight of the current climate. I am profoundly saddened and feel powerless. But, I do not have words to offer a solution or to improve any of the things that we are witnessing.
Recently though I came across a quote. Unfortunately, I can’t remember where I saw it or exactly who said it—I think it was Martin Luther. The quote talked about how we should care about the law but we should also care about how that law is carried out. Herein lies my biggest concern—how are things carried out.
Years ago my mother taught me a lesson that I have never forgotten. We used to live across the street from the ocean. There was dense vegetation where sometimes people who needed to hide would go and spend the night. No, not what you are thinking. I am talking about people in need. One afternoon, a pair of young men knocked on our door. To my surprise, my mom opened and talked to them. The young men were looking for food. My mom is old school. There is always food on the stove and coffee on the coffee maker. She cooks extra for the “just in case” visitor or passerby. She then, went inside, prepared two plates of food, two glasses of water, and gave it to them. These young men were in the country without papers or visas, or green cards, or anything. But my mom said to me: “one should never deny a plate of food to the one who asks, or water because the water comes from above over all.” This memory has always stuck with me.
We naively believe that the situation of those who come here is simple. The rhetoric we are being exposed to asserts generic statements as facts and truths without proper data to back them up. These statements nurture and feed an attitude of “I am being taken advantage of…” And a sense of “that is true! Yeah…” Both of these stances do not need much evidence to be embraced because we do fear being taken advantage of. We do feel anger when taken advantage of. However, even if those were true, embracing an attitude of disdain fails to consider that anyone of us could be left without papers tomorrow. We could be those who are running for their lives, looking for a better future, or opportunities, or even looking for the freedom to speak.
More than a decade ago I was sitting at a table with acquaintances who were adamantly and harshly speaking against social help of any kind regardless of legal status. After listening for a while, I asked: “What happens when one day you have an accident that leaves you unable to work? You lose your health insurance in care. You lose your savings paying for said care. And you have nothing else but social help. Would you still be against it?” I added: “I have a condition that may leave me unable to work one day. You know me now. You have met me and talked to me. Would you be against me using social help?”
We are not alone in this resurgent wave of thoughts and attitudes. It seems to be going around like a virus with no treatment to cure it. The question to ask ourselves is, do we behave like animals who fight for territory or do we behave with humanity? Either way, we are witnesses for both. We might choose to be quiet but we are still witnessing.