I have been having trouble deciding what to post about today. Unfortunately, the revelation came to me this morning as I learned of the tragedy in Minneapolis. I knew I must post something. I felt it would be best to come at it from a place of spirituality.
Spiritually, I grieve the loss of any life. Whether that life is lost through accident, intention or self-will. This one in particular causes a pain deep in my soul. A man was shot and killed for simply trying to help someone else. I feel outraged, angry, sadness and despair. I watched the video to get my own opinion without commentary. I was appalled. I was even more outraged when I read some of the headlines claiming that officers acted in self-defense. I keep wondering what has happened to us as a community. When did we go from a prosperous nation of respecting our fellow man to a nation of selfishness and arrogance? Some would blame our current administration. I have no doubt that is a part of the problem. But the problem came before his election and has been slowly growing. I have seen it in the little ways. We used to care about politeness, now we care about being right. We used to care about making others happy. Now we only care about making ourselves happy. We used to take responsibility for our actions, now we place blame everywhere but ourselves. And we rarely forgive.
How do I feel about immigration? That’s complicated. This country was built on immigration, so I believe its future depends on it. I feel that anyone who enters this country with good intentions should be allowed to stay. Those who obey our laws and earn their keep, should not be sent away, regardless of how they entered our country. But those who come here to kidnap, steal or otherwise cause problems, should be promptly detained and shipped to a deserted island. I believe if you are paying American taxes, you should be eligible to receive government benefits. But if you are getting paid under the table, you should not get SNAP, welfare, grants, etc. I believe that children brought into this country and raised here, should be given the option of becoming citizens once they turn 18 years old. Especially if they have gone through the American school systems. I believe that children and parents should remain together as much as possible. Most importantly, I believe honest hard-working people should not be treated like criminals.
I fear that recent actions will lead to one of two things. Either this will tear our nation apart or lead to another civil war. I hope I am wrong. But we’ve become too polarized to come to a compromise. I foresee battle lines being drawn. Instead of North vs. South, I see East vs. West. Or even worse pockets of dissension with every state being on the front lines.
There is a glimmer of hope. Our world today is driven more by money than weapons. A threat of repealing funding can be a larger incentive than then threatening military action. My hope is that this can somehow lead to peace. And that we can all live together in harmony.
Kestrel Two Feet 