Immigration and Mercy

I was recently on a long drive through the middle of the US and had a lot of time to think. One thing that bothers me is seeing all these public displays of faith, like giant Mega Churches, giant billboards with biblical messages, and giant crosses on the side of the road in states that support the immigration position of the Cruz/Trump circle of friends. It bothers me because a few of those supporters that I know personally proclaim themselves to be Christians. How can that be? Jesus had a message of mercy to those around you. Immigrant took your job? You must love him or her. Illegally? Doesn’t matter: “If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:29-30). The message does not make a legal exception- the more unjust the situation is, the more of an opportunity it becomes to display your Christian virtue. But that does not happen.
You have heard the argument that we are a nation of migrants. Technically, even the native Americans were migrants. Cruz, Rubio, are the products of a system that allow them to come into a country with great opportunity. Those that they would keep out want only what they themselves received. Again the issue of legality is brought up by the defenders of such policy-- well, we make the laws; they are not enshrined in a holy temple. What should guide our laws is the question. Should we look at the job creation numbers, the wage index? Shouldn’t there be room for mercy? I believe there should be, as the majority of Americans would also, but I add that for the Christian, who professes his salvation, his transformation, his place in heaven, I believe that mercy should be the primary concern even to the detriment of all other worldly considerations like jobs and wages (often brought up as the casualties of a more open immigration policy).

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[b] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Matthew 18:23-35).

No law entitles someone to enter this country, but the mercy of those who made the laws does. I believe that the majority of Evangelical Christians support an immigration reform based on mercy (theatlantic.com/politics/arc … mp/403591/), but just as I would like Muslim moderates to publicly attack the corrupt beliefs of Islamicists so too do I wish that moderate evangelists would speak up against the lack of mercy of mass deportations, separation of families, and denying asylum to single mothers who risk their life because they have no other way out. Is it practical? No, but neither is Jesus message of mercy.

There is a obvious difference between reporting South Americans, and fear of Syrrians. Mexicans don’t body bomb us.

Christianity has 1300 years of dealing with Muslims trying to enslave us. We are informed were infidels for following Christ, and our women are raped, children turned into soldiers to fight us, our churches destroyed… my area has a lot if Greeks, and they survived the genocide at Smyrna. The stories of babies being tossed up in the air and landing on bayonets is very, very vivid in many Christian communities, and unfortunately, ISIS has decided this is the style if Islam they want, so everyone is understandable quite intolerant of it.

Side effect is, a few million people become collateral damage from Christians finally learning their lesson. We are OK with bombing ISIS or groups like them, but the refugee crisis we aren’t that well equipped for. Just how quickly will we get good into Mosul and Falluja once they start penetrating? Can the refugees be trusted? Nope… and that’s really tragic.

I don’t want to play the game what ISIS is doing is a corruption of Islam. Muhammad was like this at times, and immediately after Muhammad’s death, I can’t tell the difference between ISIS and the ancient Islamic State trying to reassert control over tribes breaking away from Islam.

It would be better to say there are Two Islam’s, the Islam of the Constitution of Medina, and one of The Caliphate. Admittedly, the constitution of Medina is the better choice of the two if your a Non-Muslim, but the problem is, only Medina signed up for that program. At no time did Europe or North America ever sign up for rule by Islam as a friendly piwerbroker and negotiator. In either case, pogroms, enslavement, terror and injustice occurs under liberal or totalitarian Islam.

This being said, it’s America. Most Muslim groups who immigrate fit in. I don’t know what the Yemini fascination with having corner liqour stores are, but many do fit in. Many Muslims were in our unit in Iraq, many Muslims become philosophers and teachers, engineers and farmers, lawyers and doctors. The immigration has been largely good for us… but truth be told, we are always waiting for it to go bad… we kinda expect it’s inevitable. Some ultraconservative wave will rush in, this or in a future generation, and we will be screwed.

Syrians and Libyans are untouchable at this point, we take some in, but no one really wants them. We are very aware it is a Catch 22, but we lack scanners are the airport that can detect evil intentions. We really don’t want any ISIS coming here, period. We aren’t really convinced of the Good Islam vs Bad, a switch gets flipped, and it is the end.

I haven’t seen from say, beyond attempts on Just War Theory by The US Institute of Peace, real inroads to studying Islam. There is the Turk, think his name is Gulan (his book is here somewhere)… but it’s doubtful, looks very basic. Where is the American School of Islamic Jurisprudence? The one that laces the thoughts of the founding fathers, of supreme court justices cases, of major western philosophers, line by line to Hadithas? Where we apply modern logic to it, modern ethics? It doesn’t exist as far as I know. I would like to see some Fatwas name drop John Adams or Emerson or Marcuse in a positive light, where we know Islam isn’t hostile to us, out to destroy and kill us for being friends and compassionate to it. We don’t want a city to turn Muslim majority, then start killing Christians, demanding a separate state in Michigan or Iowa. Nobody does that, no even the Mormons anymore.

So, that’s my honest prejudice. Very honest. I more or less want to see a move from medieval Shari’a and closer to the constitution of Medina, but on the basis of a brotherhood of equals, cause we never agreed to let Muslims rule over us and run our society for us. We are a republic. Iran is sorta a republic, so I know it’s possible. I would rather have a community where nobody is being body bombed. I’m all for the calligraphy, Sufi mysticism, pilgrimage… just with ISIS… no. We don’t want a politically correct assurance of meet us half way, we want Islam to meet us full way. We have a peaceful society in the US, freedom of religion, never under wither the authority of Medina or Mecca… the emphasis since it is a peaceful, friendly society, lead by the people of the book, is to adapt the laws to apply only in cases where Muslims are seen as equals to others, not in control, not having a divine duty to kill or rule… because we obviously never have been under that system here. In the US, Muhammad wouldn’t of been persecuted in the first place. He could preace. So we do not qualify as enemies here. Period. Do our laws have validity? Some at least must. Do our efforts towards peace have validity within the US? I hope so… it was a situation early Islam didn’t know.

If Islam becomes Americanized… a school of jurispudence emerging taking our views in comparision, our advances in logic applied to the interpretation of the Koran and legal texts, andvwe see muslims outwardly patriotic, then it wont be much of a issue. Just obviously the brand Islam has back in the middle eadt us scaring everyone, and we are right to be scared… you can’t even surrender… no matter what you convert to ir agree to profess, your still going to be on somebody’s kill list. It doesnt stop enslsvement or killing you. This is about the worst PR ever.

Double Post

Immigration wouldnt be a problem if tax revenue generating jobs could be made as fast as the people came in. Its not rocket science. There is plenty of work to be done but the free market can’t organize or set a definite direction for productive power… Its too spontaneous and unpredictable. Too many people making decisions and hesitating to invest in new markets that would require and accommodate such new productive power entering the country.

This is why im an anarcho-fascist. Conservatives always complain about problems they are to naive to understand and take control of. We need a consolidation of power by a select group of ubermenschean to give this world direction and purpose!

Id have every body crossing the boarder into my country walk straight to the employment commission to be assigned a job, a place of residence and a medical plan. Id be flipping every dollar that person generated in less than a year. You got to know how to put folks to work.

In a global capitalism there is too much freedom to not spend…and this translates into dead capital. The best kind of stimulus to growth is the spending of rich people… Nothing more important can happen to an economy. So when opportunity to invest is ignored because of uncertain risks and market instabilities inherent to capitalism, well, it can get pretty bad. When in addition to this you have a population flood of immigrants, its like a double whammy. So much opportunity… So much work force… So many knuckleheads in power.