This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write. I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf. The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie. And it is where you want
Two opinions on immigration crossed my transom in the last few days.
And both caught my attention; thus, they are worth a second look.
They deal with an issue – immigration – that is roiling this country as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump runs against non-white persons who are trying find a better life in this country.
Of course, in a way, all of us are immigrants if you consider that our ancestors came from other countries to the United States. And that includes Trump’s ancestors.
He would never admit this fact.
I have written about immigration before to make a couple points:
- First, there is no excuse for policymakers in this country who have failed – sometimes intentionally – to solve the illegal immigrant issue. And that applies strongly today as the U.S. Senate decided not to conduct an impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a fact that prompted some Republicans to say they would go after Democrats who supported Mayorkas.
- Second, legal immigrants are an important part of this country’s economic fabric – and should be considered so.
For the second point, look no farther than an opinion piece by León Krauze, Global Opinions contributing columnist for the Washington Post. Here is what he wrote.
“After the Francis Scott Key Bridge fell in the middle of the night in Baltimore, journalists rightly focused on the victims. One element of the story stood out for me: The eight men who had been working tirelessly to repair potholes overnight were all immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico. Quietly, in the wee hours of the morning, they performed a task no one else would. Of the eight, only two survived.”
Krauze goes on to write that, “after decades of living and working in the area, immigrants had become a part of Baltimore. They are also the engine of America’s economy. The immigrant workforce has long been a crucial driver of various industries.
“For example, without immigrants, the construction industry would grind to a halt. Immigrants work in it at great personal risk.”
Yet, given this reality, there goes Trump again railing against immigrants because they don’t give him what he wants, which is a “white America where he can be a king or a dictator.”
“Violent nativist rhetoric has featured prominently in U.S. politics for almost a decade now,” Krauze writes. “In 2015, early in his presidential campaign, Trump labeled Mexicans — who constitute most immigrants, and their descendants, in the United States — as criminals. Since then, he hasn’t let up. On his path to the 2024 election, Trump has stated that immigrants are ‘poisoning the blood of the country.’”
Now, for the second post that captured my attention.
It came from Jeff Schultz, the co-lead pastor of Faith Church in Indianapolis, who commented on a disjointed reality – Trump selling Bibles, though it is likely that he has not read one word of it, or, at least, doesn’t hew to its teaching, which is that all – yes, ALL – people matter.
Immigration, Schultz is a significant theme throughout the Bible. “In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word ‘ger’ is best translated as ‘immigrant,’ and it appears 92 times. And we’re not just to welcome immigrants but to also love and care for them, as well as seek justice on their behalf.
“Many of the heroes in the Bible were immigrants. Abraham left his homeland on a divine promise then crossed borders again, fleeing famine. Moses fled Egypt to live in Midian and named his first son Gershom, which means ‘a foreigner there.’
“Ruth, a Moabite immigrant in Israel, became part of the lineage of King David and, ultimately, Jesus.
“Jesus, of course, was the most important immigrant in history. Carried by Joseph and Mary, He escaped violence in his homeland and found refuge in Egypt, an experience similar to that of more than 35 million refugees around the world today who have fled their homes because of persecution.”
As I wrote earlier, Trump knows nothing of the Bible even as he pedals it to help fund his political campaign.
If he did, he would not rail against immigrants.
And this final thought from Schultz: “As Jesus’ followers, we are called to see ourselves as strangers who’ve been welcomed by God’s kindness.”
Good words!
But Trump, for one, will never learn them.
Perspective from the 19th Hole 