What Have We Become?

I believe we have reached the inflection point of a Shakeout: either you are against the separation of children from families or you are okay with it. This is the point in history where Americans will identify with one or the other and after the November mid-terms, switching to against separation will be too late: you will have irrevocably made your choice.

A couple of years ago, Republicans in Congress made such a great commotion about how they revered and upheld the Constitution and provided readings from the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Amazing how quickly one forgets. It seems like a large segment of the American population does not truly understand what being American means: being American is not about being white. Being American is really about rooting for a concept, an idea that the whole world looks up to – an idea that we are all created equal and have the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

This past week there has been so much news surrounding the separation of children from their parents at the border that I have not been able to do much else than to read the news and be appalled and depressed. I can’t do anything as I ponder on what America is becoming. The question I have is: are there more of us against the separation or more for separation?

The Trump Supporters

One poll indicates that roughly 55% of the Republicans are in favor of such separations. Another statistic that I’ve heard is that 1/3 of Americans, basically the Republicans, supports the policy (and thus 2/3 of Americans are not in favor of family separations). This separation policy is to contrary to the idea that all men are created equal and have the rights to life, liberty and happiness.

I get a sense, wishful thinking maybe, that for some, the more they hear the outrage against Trump and his administration, the more their subconscious are grappling with the recognition that they have made a grave mistake. As a face saving measure, they cling more tightly to him as a way of denying the implications of their choice. If someone pushes you and calls you a racist and bigot, digging his finger into your chest, and pushing your back against the wall, initially you will deny. It’s a natural instinct to deny that you are in the wrong. It is my hope that some of them are reassessing their choice, if at least subconsciously. I’m really, really hoping.

Their Reasons for Supporting the Separation Policy

It’s hard to sympathize with these people. The constant refrain that “it’s the law” does not justify barbaric and inhumane behavior. There is no law that says that children have to be forcibly separated and even if there was one, such law would be immoral and unjustifiable due to a higher law of decency toward human beings. A king, a president, or a body of people could institute any number of inhumane laws and the laws would still be wrong. Most people everywhere, except for the truly evil, know that inhumane laws or actions are just wrong. The Nuremberg trials had ruled that “just doing your job” was not enough to absolve you of the crimes against humanity and “it’s the law” is in the same category.

Another reasoning from these supporters is that immigrants are bad people (like MS-13) and we should stop those criminals. Surely those people know that such an overly broad application of description is overreaching? Are they that dumb? By way of analogy, that’s like somebody saying that all men should be castrated “until we can figure out what is going on” because men are serial killers. We don’t make such broad characterization because we know that most men are not serial killers. By the same logic, most immigrants are not criminals and are just trying to find a better life. It is not a crime to try to find a better life and man has been doing it since we came down from the trees and moved out of the caves. In America, we are all immigrants, or descended from immigrants who came here to find a better life. We must not never forget that.

Another and a more difficult reason to square is the comment that when we put someone in jail for regular crimes, we are separating parents from their children. Okay, I will admit that stopped me, although my intuition screamed “No!” But after thinking and reading, here’s the big difference between normal jailing and the current policy of separating migrant children from families: yes, sometimes you have to jail the parent after he or she has been charged with a horrible crime such as murder or robbery or whatever, but usually the kids stay with the remaining parent or are placed with relatives. The kids are not fleeing from the only land they know and entering a strange place with different languages and customs. The kids are not placed in prison-like environments, whether it’d be cage-like enclosures or warehouses with brightly lit rooms. There is a vast qualitative difference that the Trump supporter seems unable to distinguish.

Finally there are the religious, like the pastors, who says that God has placed Trump in the White House and so we must have faith in him because it is part of some grand plan. Unfortunately, I think this is some wishful thinking on their part. I don’t think God would want us to separate children from their mothers and fathers; that sounds more like the Devil’s work. In fact, there are two other interpretations as to why Trump became president: 1) God placed him there to test the people in how well they resist temptation of achieving their goals (does the end justify the means?) and 2) the Devil himself is tempting them, saying I’ll give you what you want if you allow me to use the presidency as my piggy bank. I’m not sure how we could “slap” the religious out of this folly.

Where is the concept that all men are created equal and have the right to life, liberty and happiness? Or was all that Sturm und Drang about the Constitution just an act a couple of years ago?

Are They Hardening or Do They Even Have a Soupcon of Unease?

It’s distressing and scary that 1/3 of American voters are in favor of these separations. Where did we go wrong? How did they not learn that this is cruel and just plain wrong? Did they never learned the lessons of WWII? And yet, I feel there are indications that some realize this separation policy is wrong. When the supporters decided to stop reading/hearing those news on Fox News, it must be that deep down their subconscious wants to deny the gravity of their choice and the direction our country is going. Again, this is just a hope and is not based on any fact. All I can say is that I’m hoping that some have doubts. I don’t know what it will take to get them to admit to themselves that they made a horrible, horrible mistake, before it becomes too late to turn back.

Here’s yet another article that talks about how as more time goes on, more and more Republicans fall in line with Trump’s position on an issue. That’s scary to think that they become more hardened in their support. What will cause this to break? By the time they start hurting, everyone else will be in deep hurt and it may be too late to turn back. I imagine in a couple of years, what little tax cuts the average American received will be reversed, climate change will have really moved in, and we may be facing many people without the social support of Medicaid, Medicare, any form of health care and Social Security. And, the artificial intelligence revolution will be in full swing, with massive unemployment kicking in. If they wake up at that point in time, it may be too late.

But then this article has a more hopeful take on the situation: as time goes on, more and more Americans support immigration. So who is right? I don’t know. I think it’s more that Democrats and Independents are supporting immigration more and more whereas the Republicans are hardening their support for Trump. In other words, we are getting more polarized. The question is: what is Democrats’ and Independents’ percentage of the population and the Republicans’ percentage? And can Democrats and Independents all choose one person instead of splitting up?

Various Articles and Videos on the Crisis

Okay, time to close up this post so I will finish up with some odds and ends.

First, something from the viewpoint of the children hearing this:

Children's take on what they see and hear

Second, my recollection of Trump supporters’ outrageous statements on the child separations:

Laura Ingraham: these are “summer camps”. Really? Summer camps? I don’t think these kids are enjoying this. I think you should ask them if they find this fun.
Brian Kilmeade at Fox and Friends: “they are not our children”. They are children and no child deserves to be treated like this.
Corey Lowendowski: “womp, womp”. Wow, what a bully. We’re talking about a 10 year old child with Down syndrome being taken away from her mom. Don’t you have any empathy?
Stephen Miller: he loves the outrage from the left; he loves triggering the left and melting the snowflakes; cruelty is the feature.

Stephen Miller article

Third, Republicans who are moving away from the Republican party:

Governors and some Republican moms as previously noted in the Rachel Maddox video.
George Will is voting against the Republicans.
Steve Schmidt will vote for Democrats.
Bloomberg is pledging money to help Democrats win

And businesses, you don’t get to get away from your role in this travesty. By supporting Trump so you could get the tax cuts, we have arrive at this place:

The Devil and Tom Donohue

A former Republican’s take on immigration: (Bret Stephens). Interesting viewpoint here and pretty much an indictment of white Americans who was born into such great country.

Trump Immigration