“Give me your lazy, your thieves,
Your huddled criminal gangs yearning to sell drugs,
The wretched terrorists and teeming hordes,
Send these, the murderers,
The lust driven to me.
I lift my skirt beside the broken door.”

With Apologies to Emma Lazarus

 

 
For those of my readers who consider themselves liberal (which is becoming a misnomer), you can probably stop reading now. You, no doubt, have already decided what I think, and have determined your reaction to it. Make your disparaging comments on what I didn’t say, on what I didn’t mean, or on what I never was. Perhaps some exaggerated insults involving fascism, nazis, some mangling of my name, or some unrelated allusion to my hair or the size of my hands. Maybe you just want to punch me in the face. Possibly you have decided that my racist, xenophobic, hateful views are so disgusting that they must be silenced through riots and violence. I live in a rural area, so there aren’t any bicycle racks to throw, or Starbucks to vandalize. We are kind of 2nd amendment folks out here, so you might need more than flags and pepper spray… just sayin’.

There are fringes in every group, and if we judge the whole by the fringe we will be deceived and unjust; our views will be shrill, irrelevant, and disconnected from reality. The antifas anarchists that rioted Berkeley clearly don’t represent the majority of the liberal left, any more than my mangling of Emma Lazarus’s iconic verse is reflective of their suggested immigration policy. What is discouraging is the lack of condemnation for the tactics of such groups because of sympathy with their cause, and the common enemy. Indeed, as I have looked for reasoned objections from the left for these anarchists and their strong arm tactics, I have instead found more insults for the right, pseudo-apologetics instead of genuine apologies, escalations instead of calls for calm. We see your fringe, and when you don’t distance yourself from their tactics, if not their outrage, then your silence becomes disturbing. Never let the fringe define you. The same is true on the right; we can’t condone the actions of mobs of rioting right wing demonstrators should they ever arise, or the actions of the few unhinged individuals who violently break the law or express true racism.

Immigration policy has always been a contentious issue. There are those who would prefer that Mr. Trump’s wall had no gates at all, just as there are those who would prefer that there not only be no wall, but no fence, no border security, no borders at all. Do these groups define us? They don’t define me, or the vast majority of people I hear. Most Americans treasure immigration as the bedrock of our nation. Most Americans want that immigration to be legally sanctioned, with some mechanism for vetting to lessen the possibility of inviting criminals, terrorists and other negative influences from entering our home. The differences arise from the emphasis we place on compassion versus security. Compelling arguments can be made from both sides, but once the debate descends into exaggeration to the point of dishonesty, and insult to the point of unbridled hatred, then we have become children shouting at each other with our hands over our ears.

I have always had a big heart, often to the exclusion of my brain, and were the decision mine to make I would probably welcome more refugees than would be wise to take. I’m a risk taker, and honestly, I would be more than willing to allow for a little bit of risk for the sake of compassion for those from war torn nations. All that being said, I recognize I do not live in this nation alone. There are reasons for fear and there are other citizens whose concerns and thoughts are as valid as my own. The decision is not mine to make alone. I liken it to a man wishing to adopt a family of kids who were victims of abuse. His wife is less sure, and says no, or at least that she would like more time to think about it. The husband can make his case, cajole, encourage her sympathy, make a deal with his wife, but how effective do you think it will be for him to start insulting her, “You heartless bitch! You call yourself a Christian!”   Maybe he throws a rock through the window, threatens to punch her in the face. If he becomes unhinged enough, maybe she will even succumb to his coercion. Has he done well? He has not. It is perhaps sad that the wife allowed fear to overcome her compassion, but it is tragic that the husband decided that his will, even if righteous, entitled him to forcefully impose that will. Likewise, the wife needs to understand that her reticence can quickly turn to belligerence, and in her adamant refusal she is imposing her own will on the household. Do we hear anybody, anybody at all, talking compromise, or talking to each other at all? More each day we embrace coercion over consensus.

There’s a danger that Lady Liberty will lose her head. Mindless devotion to your nation’s leader is indeed the path to totalitarianism. The existence of a “loyal opposition”, a reasoned resistance is just one more check and balance crucial to our liberty. Bear in mind though, the counterbalance for mindless devotion is not mindless opposition. During the tenure of Barack Obama, there were some who resorted to crude insult, conspiracy theory, and outrageous hyperbole… these were the mindless opposition, and their existence only bolstered the mindlessly devoted. Those who rather spoke with reason and balance were the real resistance that slowed the onslaught of executive tyranny, as they should be now. Instead, most of the left have left their minds aside, and are being played by President Trump, the Lord of Chaos. He has taken the idea of distraction by shiny object to a whole new level, with pyrotechnics, explosions, and Twitter. His mind works in a distinctly non-linear fashion, and while you are guarding the barn, he’ll be robbing the hen house. If you jump to the hen house, it’s his chance to break into your house. You need to march on Washington, he needs only tweet. If you use only your heart, he will wear you down, thin you out, and turn you into the fringe (See this upcoming Superbowl commercial!). It isn’t easy to be the reasoned resistance, easier to start a mindless revolution and burn down the house, but that’s a revolution you can’t win. Possibly now the left understands what we on the right meant about the danger of centralized government, the advantages of Federalism, and the removing of the strings of Federal funding as the ties that bind, the defunding of Leviathan. What seems perfectly fine while your guys are in charge, is suddenly a disaster when your guys aren’t. As long as power is so concentrated and precious we will be facing perpetual civil war, and the Hell that war brings. Without rational discussion, peaceful protest, and honest regard for our leaders and fellow citizens, we resort to the kind of mob rule that we saw in Berkeley. Make no mistake, most of us have no desire to respond in kind to hatred, violence or unlawfulness; but neither will we be ruled by mobs. Eventually other mobs will rise, flags and bricks will be replaced with guns and knives, and then eventually troops; and you will have created the tyranny you feared. Anger and hatred are poor substitutes for high mindedness and good will; yielding to darkness leaves you blind and vulnerable. We need people of truth and light from all political persuasions. I know I’ve used this quote before, but it seems apropos to end:

“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster… for when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”

Friedrich Nietzche