It's day 31 of the U.S. government shutdown. Federal employees have gone 31 days without getting paid for their work. National Parks have been damaged. Our economy is suffering. The cause? An estimated $5.7 billion wall that stands for everything we would like to believe our nation is not. If built, this wall would represent how one man has taken fear and used it to control us. It will demonstrate how one man, one twitter account, and one vast array of fear-inducing inflammatory language has managed to turn a nation that was meant to be ran "for the people, by the people" into one ran by fear. This wall would definitely be a monument. Not one such as The Statue of Liberty, which could be viewed as symbolizing how we once were brave enough to embrace others who are seeking refuge. This wall would be a monument that rather shows how we have let fear take the better of us.
Recently "The Killers" released a single "Land of The Free". Highlighting many of the problems that we face in the U.S., the song also emphasizes how building a wall would symbolize everything we don't stand for. On the single's cover, there's the Statue of Liberty. I wonder what she would have to say about this wall. I wonder if she would agree that we do have a problem in the land of the free.
"Between 1886 and 1924, almost 14 million immigrants entered the United States through New York. The Statue of Liberty was a reassuring sign that they had arrived in the land of their dreams. To these anxious newcomers, the Statue's uplifted torch did not suggest "enlightenment," as her creators intended, but rather, "welcome." Over time, Liberty emerged as the "Mother of Exiles," a symbol of hope to generations of immigrants."
If Lady Liberty could speak, I wonder what she would have to say about a wall being built to keep people out. I wonder if she would agree with our president, that we need it for security. Would she agree that a wall would prevent drugs from being smuggled into the country and that it would prevent the murders, rapes, and other crimes committed that are being blamed all immigrants without taking into account those crimes committed by our own citizens? I wonder instead if she would point out that we, as a nation, are the first to cast blame on someone who we believe doesn't belong, but refuse to acknowledge our own faults and flaws?
I wonder if she would disagree with those declaring we need this wall for security. I wonder if she would say that there are other ways to improve our security without building something that can be climbed, broken down, and dug under. Would she point out that some of these people have such a strong will to flee the circumstances they were in because they truly believe nothing could have been worse than staying there. I wonder if she would point out how fences and and borders in the middle east haven't stopped weapons from being smuggled across those borders. I wonder if she would point out that we really don't know who the enemy is and that maybe our greatest enemy can be found within our borders. Maybe our greatest enemy, and our greatest threat to our democracy is ourselves. Maybe we're so caught up in being afraid of what could happen that we don't stop to realize we're boxing ourselves in. We're so caught up in being afraid, we've forgotten to look at facts and investigate instead of going with the opinions of others.
I wonder if she would welcome those who are trying to cross the border and seek refuge and safety or if she would turn them away. I wonder if she would point out that walls have a history of being used to keep people, and their ideas, from mixing with others. Something that goes against the saying America is a "melting pot" of cultures and identities. I wonder if she would point out that it was in 1987, just over 30 years ago, that President Reagan stood before the Berlin Wall and famously said "Tear Down This Wall". I wonder if she would point out, it's pretty hypocritical to demand one government to tear down a wall as we now build our own.
I wonder if Lady Liberty would point out that, by turning away refugees and those coming to the U.S. because conditions in their home country are beyond what we could imagine when we think of horrible, we're not really living up to the fact that we claim to be a Christian nation. In fact, I wonder if she would point out how we've managed to become conditioned towards immigrants trying to cross over much the same way many of us are conditioned into walking past a homeless individual asking for food and not donating a thing. The bible is littered with verses teaching us to be kind to foreigners. I wonder if Lady Liberty would draw our attention to Leviticus 19:33-34...
"When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt..."
I wonder if Lady Liberty would like to open our eyes to what some of these people have had to live through to make the decision to risk and abandon everything to come to the U.S. I wonder if she would use her torch to cast light on where these people came from instead of where they are going. I wonder if she point out that we, as a nation, are blessed. We have the freedom to think for ourselves. We have the freedom to protest our government peacefully. We have the freedom to help others. We have the freedom to have a voice in our own government and the decision that it makes. We have the freedom to get an education regardless of our sex. We have the freedom to not turn a blind eye to situations unfolding that impact more than just ourselves. We have the freedom to practice our own religions, wear our own choice of clothing, and marry who we love. We have the freedom to make the decision not to take our freedoms for granted.
What I wonder most, however, about Lady Liberty, is whether or not she would she would agree with The Killers that we do have a problem in the land of the free and that we have forgotten where we have came from, that we have forgotten what we stand for as nation, and that we have somehow managed to let fear get the best of us.
