It is my opinion that the term "racist" is being used WAY too freely these days. Before I go any further, let me affirm to anyone who does not know me well that as a Christian, I believe racism to be evil, immoral, unjust and against the most basic ideals of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Racism has no place in the life of a Christian and should be peacefully resisted in America on all fronts.
That's why I am so upset that the definition of racism is being so mischaracterized by many on the radical left of the political aisle - with the latest example being this ridiculous notion that Arizona's new crackdown on illegal aliens is racism. In a ploy of almost unbelievable audacity, Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva recently called upon President Obama to force Arizona to overturn their legislation mandating sworn peace officers and Border Patrol agents to begin more strictly monitoring and questioning those who they suspect may be in the country illegally.
Silly me for being one of those out of touch, old-fashioned idiots who is naive enough to suppose that the main responsibility of the Border Patrol is to CONTROL THE BORDER. I must have missed the memo about these officers and agents no longer being allowed to do the job our tax dollars are paying them to do!
I understand the opposition's argument about fears of racial profiling - which is why I actually went online and READ the bill. It clearly prohibits law enforcement personnel from racial profiling - among several other extremely strict stipulations. Google it and read for yourself if you don't believe me!
You can tell I am passionate about this stuff, can't you? I am so sick and tired of the far left yelling "racism" any time a white person questions the policies of our black president. I am grieved by the notion that some people cannot offer critical analysis of ideas they believe are bad for our country without being labeled with such a terrible and false charge of racism. And I cannot understand the notion that a long-overdue crackdown on illegal immigration in Arizona is now being labeled as a "racist" agenda.
The far left continually talks about how we are now finally a "post-racial" society - with the election of Barack Obama as their greatest proof. While I too celebrate the progress we have made in tearing down racial bigotry in our great country - my opinion is that an even greater evidence of our becoming "post-racial" as a nation will occur when two things happen:
1) When the far-left stops using the term "racist" in such an illegitimate, unwarranted and ill-defined manner, and
2) When a President-of-color can be voted out of office based on his policy failures and no one so much as brings his race into the discussion.
When did agreeing to enforce our states' illegal immigration laws become a racist endeavor? I don't care whether it is a Mexican or a red-haired Irish Canadian attempting to come to America illegally! He or she should be treated humanely, punished to the full extent of the law and deported with no chance for re-entry. This is exactly how Mexico treats the thousands of Guatemalans who illegally cross Mexico's southern border each year! Wouldn't it be great if we could at least enforce our laws as well as Mexico enforces theirs?
Now the Phoenix Suns are sporting "Los Suns" on their Jerseys as a protest from the owner of their team. I truly wish one of their star players had the cajones to sit out of the game without pay in protest of his jersey being used as a political propaganda billboard. I think Dennis Miller said it best when he questioned why nobody is memorializing the poor Arizona farmer who was recently murdered by illegal immigrants or the cop who was recently shot while chasing down illegal immigrants or the dozens of other examples of how out of control this problem is!
That's my opinion - what's yours? If you have a strong conviction that you can share respectfully - please feel free to join in with your comments! :)
Not a single person, to me, has been able to demonstrate how cops are supposed to spot illegal immigrants without racial profiling. I've seen supporters dance around the issue but nobody has given me any reason to believe racial profiling will not be involved in any of these illegal immigrants being arrested. Enforcing the law is not racist, at all, how we enforce the law can be.
ReplyDeleteThe far left does take it to the extreme with racism charges at times, on that same note the far right engages in quite a bit of racist activities. It's not a complete coincidence why you don't find an overwhelming amount of blacks at conservative events, it's because of the far right and their history of racist behavior. I do stress, far far right, not simply conservatives. Is this the majority of conservatives? Not at all, but as the far left has had a negative impact on you, hence this post, the far right has a negative impact on blacks.
Us focusing on both extremes does zero to benefit this debate and only hinders our opportunity to look at things clearly. We are letting extremists run this debate when both sides are obviously delusional. Calling the owner of the suns "idiotic" and "disgraceful" for his stance on this immigration bill is upsetting. Just upsetting as if someone were to call you idiotic for your stance on this issue or any issue that you very publicly take a stand either for or against. None of his players sat out the game because all of his players were completely on board with his decision, as was the NBA, as was the players union, as is the MLB and their players union. I think it needs to be noted that none of them are advocating illegal immigrants, I'm not, a very small amount of people support illegal immigrants. We're taking a stance against racial profiling.
I'm aware there is a revision in the bill saying racial profiling is unacceptable and illegal but we've got roughly 10 million illegal immigrants here in the states and for decades that too has been acceptable. I hope your able to engage more of the Latino and black community into discussions on racial profiling because I think we could all learn a lot.
Hope all is well.
Thanks for your words Ryan. Several of your points add great insight into the debate. The bill according to the way I understood it as a layman seems to prevent law enforcement from questioning a person based on race under any circumstances, but gives them the mandate to use the authority they already possess more boldly once they have reasonable cause to suspect someone of being in country illegally. Am I wrong about this? If so, please quote the portion of the bill I am misinterpreting. I appreciate your boldness and gentleness, and while I stand by my opinion that the Suns owner is an idiot for using his Jerseys as a political billboard, I respect your thoughts there also.
ReplyDeleteLike you, Jeremy, I read the bill online. (Yeah, I'm one of those geeks who read the "text of proposed law" in all the sample ballots, too.) Assuming it is an authentic copy of the bill, I wholeheartedly agree with you. It is a statement of commitment to uphold existing federal laws concerning illegal immigration--not a whole new set of state regulations. States have the power to take certain actions independent of the feds and other states; this is just another one of those actions, imho.
ReplyDeleteI have not engaged in any repartee on the subject (this is a very hot topic around the water cooler at work), nor joined or endorsed any groups condemning the AZ lawmakers. The bill makes for good common sense, and supports what the feds wisely imposed many years ago.
There is a process in place to obtain legal entry and citizenship...you just have to wait in line and jump through the hoops. Is that too much to ask of the many who want to become an integral part of this "great nation?" There's a reason the US is seen as "great" and it seems like AZ is just trying to keep it that way. Unchecked illegal entry from any of our borders will be our undoing.
Here's just one, very limited example: as one employed in the social services industry, I can assure you that the state and federal governments don't provide benefits to everyone who walks through the door. It takes more than meeting the income threshold. US citizenship or lawful permanent residency is required for most of the full-scope type programs, but there are significant dollars and services covering illegals due to the myriad exceptions and exemptions to our complicated regulations. State and federal entities fund all our programs, which, ultimately, stem from tax dollars. If we deplete the tax base by allowing illegals to work for cash or whatever, the gravy train will eventually come to a screeching halt. The needy will outnumber the able.
Maybe I'm being too simplistic; maybe my math doesn't add up. Maybe I need to work the equation out a little farther? Idk.
Amen.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jeremy for being a pastor and having the courage to tackle relevant issues. Too bad more of the church leadership doesn't imitate you. As far as the law Arizona's legislature just passed, it has absolutely NOTHING to do with race! This state is struggling under the Government's refusal to address this issue!! Since the majority of us are not on the far right or far left, let's just focus on how to solve this problem! We have the right as a soveriegn nation to expect that our laws are respected by all and upheld by our law inforcement. To equate enforcing and upholding the law with mean spiritedness or racism seems to me nothing more than a diversion. The state of Arizona and the nation cannot afford to continue to turn a blind eye on this national crisis.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Linda, Marie and Ron...I appreciate the feedback and encouragement...
ReplyDeleteThank you Pastor Jeremy for finally saying what everyone else mutters to themselves! I totally agree with the points you stated.
ReplyDelete