Innocence
A friend wrote with a question, "I'm interested in what you think of the Biden plan. He clearly understands the need for more resources." It is January 6, 2023 and I thought about the question.
The plan referred to in the question is the immigration policy position that the administration is taking today - January 5, 2022. The plan is exactly what one could expect from a broken political system - one in which there is deep doubt and suspicion, making good policy a near impossibility. Every bit of progress on any front that matters to people on the ground comes out of fights that can no longer be called political differences, debate, or meaningful discourse. There is no discourse, no civility, no appreciation for moving away from the dichotomy of winning and losing. In the meantime the losers are facing more hardship, fewer options, and less ability to understand how best to engage in politics. The "power" model exhausts and rarely delivers what those in need require to live with a measure of dignity. And most likely the reason why "power" doesn't often prevail is because politics requires money. Capitalism creates oligarchs. And Compassion has not penetrated to the point of being able to influence either.
Examples of successfully bringing about power to the people are rare. It is a blessing to live in a place where the first African American woman won a mayoral race, faced with literally tens of millions opposing her candidacy. It is a blessing to live in a place where the cyclone bomb weather has not inundated homes and highways for days. It is a karmic gift to be able to live in a time when the intensity of the disparities are such that artists and a new generation of creatives in business are thinking and moving seriously the options for working people, who no longer live in a nation that produces anything. This society has moved, as was predicted three decades ago, into the information and technology space and therefore, labor and skills needed have changed. Our worker population, has not.
Yet, the innocence of those who are still needed for the bits of labor and work that can be used to support a family is seen most visibly in the faces of the migrants seeking entry, and escaping horrible conditions in their home country. The encounters with such people can make one feel the tears well up - why? Because there is a sincere and innocent belief that by entering the north, there will be safety, food, shelter, compassion, understanding about what has been left behind.
To worriers: Yes, there will be those who make trouble and undermine what the majority of newcomers will have to offer this country. It is a fact of life: there are people who are doing their best; there are people who don't know what it means to do your best - life travels them down a different path. But what does one think in remembering that those who are part of the menacing narrative are the ones who are sucking up all the resources that could otherwise be used to receive the people who are moving from their home countries and wanting to make a positive contribution. What is your suggestion?
As I meet the actual people in transit, young ones or the women and men who are holding in their hearts, a commitment to keep things moving toward the light of a better life, I am humbled and dumb-founded. Is there any hope in trying to explain? The fate of transit and entry is in the hands of people who are either entirely overwhelmed with the demands of meeting needs of immigrants now; or in the hands of those who are battling over nation/state borders. In today's world, those lines are dissolving and in the process creating conflicts that migrating people cannot even imagine are taking place.
To see the light, the innocence the hope, the friendliness of people who will risk anything to find a new home - keeps the desire to contribute even the most modest bit of help: food, blankets, medicine. One hopes that the journey ends well, that the needless loss of life can be avoided, and that fears and "what if's" can be set aside in favor of that which most seem to forget: The highest level of skill is finding the way to move through the world with fearless kindness and care.