by Sandy » Fri Jul 18, 2014 10:01 am
I've been in Honduras and Guatemala, and in fact, spent a week in San Pedro Sula, Honduras about 15 years ago. The poverty was shocking. Since then, the gang violence has escalated out of control. I'm not sure whether that's due to US foreign policy, or just the decline of a culture over-run by corruption and poverty, but the fact that a number of American corporations extract significant wealth out of Honduras, and profit from the cheap labor which results from the poverty and deprivation, probably contributes to its continuing. Kids don't get an education because they work, which keeps the cycle going.
I find the protests, mostly by political and religious conservatives, to be quite hypocritical. I consider it a foundational American principle, one of those formational philosophies that are attributed to the strong Christian influence in the founding of this country, that is expressed in the inscription on the Statue of Liberty, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free..." For those who are lip flapping about "getting our country back", filing a lawsuit against the President focused on his immigration policy that reflects this foundational principle is idiocy. The "legal" pathway to entry into this country is a catacomb of onerous regulations and rules, designed to filter out the "tired and poor" and makes it virtually impossible for Central Americans and Mexicans to enter the country legally. Desperate people do desperate things, and the lack of humanity that is being exhibited now against the children of people desperate for freedom and a real life is appalling, as is the ignorance of the protestors of this country's history, and its principles. Prosperous Americans are doing this because they love money and want to make sure that no one else competes for their share of it. I thought the love of money was the root of all evil, and greed was a sin. That looks like denial of Biblical truth to me.
I am glad to see that there are some Christians who recognize this for what it is, and have stepped up to provide the food, clothing, housing, and other assistance that is necessary to care for the kids and refugees while their fate is in the hands of horses' rear ends like John Boehner.