Think About It. Act of Love
It’s hard to believe. It has been more than two years since Jeb Bush received the undoubtedly hoped-for publicity resulting from his statement that perhaps entering the U.S. illegally might be characterized as an act of love. Relative morality and situational ethics have provided philosophical fuel for sometimes specious argument with heated discussion. When is there a justification to lie? When can we kill with impunity? When is the illegal not wrong?
Using a familiar story-telling device Victor Hugo writes of a poor man who steals bread for his starving sister and nieces. After paying the nineteen year prison price, he leads a life of unselfish service attempting to rescue those around him from their lives of misery. In one of the longest novels in history we see that truly Jean Valjean lived in a miserable world, hence Les Miserables.
Does life become more fulfilled by breaking the rules of civilized society? Do you want to become a member of an organization that is known for flaunting the norms of accepted contemporary conduct?
It seems to me that this nation has grown because of the wealth of natural resources, the opportunity for entrepreneurship, potential reward for hard work and (after a time of near anarchy) carefully nurtured rule of law.
Few could argue whether or not we need to reform the byzantine rules of U.S border crossing. The grossly inequitable laws and woefully inadequate enforcement of questionable regulations make the highest fences a silly attempt at exclusion.
Not long after the Mayflower brought its famous passengers, those first citizens fought the arrival of seekers unlike them, the “other”. God help us from the Irish, the Italian, the Jew and anyone not like we are. Then what to do with those we brought enchained to do the work we disdained? Little by little, it has become clear to most that these multiple threads of mankind have been woven into a richly varied fabric providing strength and wealth to this New World.
Some of us fear that strength and wealth are being drained by the passage of increasingly crippling laws. What’s worse are non-elected functionaries’ declaration of arbitrary regulations that prevent the once free-wheeling forward motion of opportunity-driven leaders.
How do you feel about peaceful protest, civil disobedience, undocumented entry to the U.S?
Should laws be broken in order to bring justice and provide for the world’s unfortunate?
As past becomes future, perhaps sometimes, just as you may have learned in your own home, saying NO can be an Act of Love. Think About It.
For more on immigration reform, see Again.