My first reaction after reading this: Bra-friggin'-vo.
I am about as not-Latino as any person can be. (My genetic lineage is English, Huguenot, and southwest German, with a little Mediterranean flair thrown in for good measure. Both sides of my family, though, have lived in the U.S. since the 1700's, so they're basically just "American motley" now.) My natural stances on many issues, however, would normally fall naturally in line with the traditional stances of the Republican Party. I tend to be fiscally conservative with a libertarian/laissez-faire streak, and socially moderate-to-conservative with a strong libertarian streak. On the issue of immigration in particular, I pretty much hold the same position that OSC advocates in this latest missive.
More than anything else, though, I consider myself a Christian, and strive to live my life "as unto the Lord" in all things that I do. And this is why I haven't considered myself a Republican since I was in college nearly 2 decades ago.
The extreme right of the Republican Party vocally labels themselves "Christians," as well, and I simply can't abide being lumped into a group of people that preach bigotry, ignorance, and downright hatred of groups that don't look and act like themselves to the rest of the world.
I'm teetering on the edge of going off on a soapbox about how I think being a Christian in the modern world is all about walking a fine line between spiritual matters and temporal matters, but to be honest, OSC made almost all the points I would want to make, and he did it much more eloquently than I probably would.
Bravo, OSC. I'm right there with you, both on the immigration issue and the excoriation of the Republican Party.
Posted by Amka (Member # 690) on :
Thank you for saying this!
A few years ago in Utah, we had started passing some great state based immigration reform based on the Utah Compact:
This compact was endorsed officially by the LDS church.
Now, you know that almost all of the Republicans in Utah have got to be LDS. But you know what? A lot of them strongly opposed it?!?
I was sitting at the Days of 47 Parade on our blanket with the kids when a man approached me to sign his petition to rescind one of the bills that passed as a result of that compact.
I declined, saying that I supported the bill. In the course of the conversation it became clear that he was also LDS, so I said "Well, the church and apostles support the Utah compact."
"They're law breakers. They're taking jobs away from Americans."
"They're children of God too," I replied. "God doesn't think we're more important than they are."
To which he stomped away.
Honestly, it shocked me that someone would put their politics ahead of God. Modern stiff necked Israelites...
Posted by Doug64 (Member # 13148) on :
Card got it half right. He's right that they're here and most of them aren't going back, so any real solution will have to ultimately include some kind of amnesty. And I personally believe that we should allow anyone to come here that's willing to work hard to build a future for himself and any family that comes with. The problem is that I, like most Americans, also want the border effectively closed and don't trust the federal government to do so. Which is why I want the border closed first and then those illegals already here legal status.
As we wait for that miracle, I have no problem with legal status for those brought here as young children and those willing to serve in the military.