~a column by Colleen O’Brien
It makes me a little sick to my stomach when I read about Americans protesting admitting refugee kids from Central America storming our borders in order to. . . ? Escape lives of starvation, torment and death? Gee. How dare they.
It makes me ashamed to hear the reasons some folks give who don’t want refugee kids in America: they want them to be entering legally, not flowing across the border without permission. Hmm, should I ask that black-haired, tan kid who’s drowning if he’s got a green card before I jump in to save him?
We pride ourselves on being the country that reveres Mom, the flag and apple pie.
I believe the flag part – this country abounds in flag waving, lots of loud patriotism going on, best country in the world, if you don’t like it leave it, we deserve to live here but too bad for the rest of you guys.
I believe the apple pie part – we are the fattest people on the planet.
I do not believe the Mom part. If it were true, there would be no voices advising us to turn ‘em back at the border.
The so-called devotion to “mom” that comes with flag and pie is the two-way street of “I love Mom; Mom loves kids.” What woman would smack a bus with the flat of her hand and tell little kids to go away?
It doesn’t matter what color you are or what language you speak, how dirty you look or how unaware of what’s going on, if you’re a kid you need help UNTIL YOU BECOME AN ADULT, and the people who are supposed to be helping you are the adults.
If kids in other countries are mistreated by their adults, and if those kids can make it here by hook or by crook, we are obliged on the basis of being human to help them, for god’s sake.
And we are doubly obliged to help them because we live in a peaceful, fruitful country with plenty of room and lots of money.
However selfish you are in your heart, buck up and be unselfish in public. Honestly, folks; I know it can’t be the Christians who don’t want them, because isn’t this one of the precepts of Christianity, that one takes care of those in need, in trouble, scared, hungry, alone and littler than you?
I lived at Lake Tahoe for a while; it is one of the prettiest places on earth. Folks moved there from all over the world, and once there, many of them said, “I think we need to put a moratorium on building.”
Oh, people.
Sometimes it’s hard to be one of us, isn’t it?
