This lands in the “If you know, you know” category, but my brother recently sent a response to my “Open Letter to Family” post from back in August. I appreciate the dialog. I sincerely do. Any sort of political exchange these days that doesn’t devolve into a shouting match (or strained silence) should be celebrated. So, hurray us! With that, let’s dive in.
First up: religious faith, politics and the governance of a country. My wanderings through the world have led me to the conclusion that belief in (a) god doesn’t necessarily equate to wisdom and being a caring, compassionate human being. Some of the cruelest, most self-serving, and childish adults I have met profess to be strong Christians. At the same time, some of the cruelest, most self-serving, and childish adults I have met are avid atheists. And… some of the most generous, empathetic, and giving humans I have met have a deep religious faith. And… it’s also true that some of the most generous, empathetic, and giving humans I have met have either no faith, or a faith other than Christianity.
I think that while faith can be a good source of guidance on how to lead a good, moral life, the evidence would seem to indicate that it isn’t the only way. There’s also some evidence to indicate that many people use their loudly professed faith as a cover for actions that are in complete opposition to the very tenets of that faith. So as long as I’m not telling you what you have to believe and you’re not telling me what I have to believe and — especially — our government isn’t telling both of us what we have to believe, I think we can set aside using any particular faith as a litmus test on how to proceed.
One last side note: this may be neither here nor there, but it’s probably pretty clear that I don’t subscribe to any particular faith. I’m solidly in the agnostic camp. It seems like my options are to either believe that everything in the universe somehow came from nothing or everything in the universe came from something that always was. Either way, we have to engage in some magical thinking to explain how we walking bags of sentient ocean water came to be. Given that, I’m perfectly comfortable operating in the unknown and honestly saying “I don’t know.” Any time I encounter someone who gets rigid and dogmatic and claims some proprietary insight into the ultimate unknowable aspects of our existence, that causes my left eyebrow to shoot up.
Actually, one more side note on this subject. My guess is that if somehow there were some collective human amnesia that swept over the world tomorrow and erased all signs and memories of the thousands of forms and versions of belief in the supernatural, in short order we humans would come up with some new stories to explain our corner of the universe. And those new origin stories would probably be different than the multiple beliefs that exist today. Humans are good at concocting stories — it’s our superpower. Conversely, if we wiped away all scientific discovery to date, we’d eventually get back to exactly where we are with our understanding of the universe. The testable, replicable approach to observing and explaining the physical world should yield the exact same results.
New topic: Immigration. I’m 100% in agreement that countries need to have laws that provide for the control of their borders. Agreed. Also agreed is that it is the executive branch whose job it is to carry out and enforce those laws.
I think where we have some difference is how those laws are being enforced. If the law isn’t being enforced in the same way for everyone, or if the enforcement is being conducted in an unlawful manner, then the law and the power of the government become a tool of intimidation and coercion.
Some examples? These are the three that I find most concerning, although there are more:
- Arresting and detaining U.S. citizens: While ICE policy explicitly states it cannot use its civil enforcement authority to arrest a U.S. citizen, there have been documented cases of citizens being erroneously arrested and even deported.
- A shocking lack of due process for those who have been arrested: See above. The fact that I can be swept off the street by Federal agents into an unmarked vehicle by unidentified, armed dudes in face masks is pretty unsettling. And if it’s not a straight-up kidnapping scenario, then I’m lucky that the courts get to take their leisurely time to figure out if I’m guilty or not. In the meantime, I can lose my job. I can lose my housing. My wife and kids can go hungry. This is not a fictitious scenario.
- Targeting individuals based on protected characteristics: I guess the good news here is that the Supreme Court ruled last month that ICE can use race, language, ethnicity, profession, etc., as grounds for suspicion. That’s tongue-in-cheek about the “good news” part. As I mentioned before though, I don’t know who would trust the federal government with such broad legal rational for arresting and detaining someone. If ICE can willy-nilly arrest brown-looking construction workers, they can just as easily use that same logic to arrest white-looking loggers. We seem to have moved away from “innocent until proven guilty” to “guilty because Trump thinks you look guilty.” That should be alarming.
Here in my backyard, consider Cesar and Joswar, legally here in Spokane with Ben Stuckart as their legal guardian (Ben is a former City Council president here in Spokane and an acquaintance of ours). Cesar and Joswar were here to pursue permanent US residence. Joswar and Cesar checked every single box to be here legally, they had jobs, they were following every law laid out for them. They were checking in as requested for their asylum hearing where they were unlawfully arrested by ICE and then held in federal prison in Tacoma for months. Rather than languish in prison for an undetermined period of time, both have chosen to self-deport. That’s not justice.
Cesar and Joswar were detained on June 11th of this year. That afternoon, Ben rallied several hundred protesters to peacefully protest the arrests, with the hope of obtaining the release of Cesar and Joswar. The next day, the U.S. Justice Department sent out a mass email to all 93 U.S. attorneys ordering federal prosecutors to prioritize cases against protesters who defy federal immigration enforcement and to publicize those types of cases. In a move that can reasonably be seen an intimidation and silencing tactic, Ben and nine other US citizens are now up on federal charges for conspiracy to “impede or assault law enforcement officers”, which can carry a sentence of six years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.
Local fun fact: Rich Barker, the former US District Attorney here in Spokane, is the husband of one of my coworkers. Rich refused to bring federal charges against Ben and other protestors because he felt the charges were politically motivated and lacking in substance. Within a month, he was forced to resign. And just so you know, the Barkers are good, solid Mormon stock. Rich isn’t some radical left-wing type.
Within just the past few months, I’ve seen federal governmental abuses of power, lawlessness and political coercion/intimidation within a (couple) stone throws of my front door. I think the most dangerous threat to the rule of law and the Constitution is those who use loopholes in the law to weaken and tear down the rule of law. Turning the power of law away from the basis of civil society and into a tool to enforce conformity and silence is frightening.
As a good summation of the state of affairs with the militarization of America’s police and law enforcement (and more importantly, the “police-ification” of America’s military), pour yourself your favorite drink and give this a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcTZ_en5FTM Ezra Klein, the host of the podcast, definitely has his viewpoint but he asks some fair questions about where all of this is headed.
All right. New topic, of sorts. Am I being hypocritical in now wanting be an immigrant myself? I don’t think so. Especially given that I will be following the laws of the country we’re looking to move to. What would be hypocritical is if I expect special treatment solely because I’m a middle-class white guy. Whiiiich… is exactly what I have here in the good ol’ US of A. And I don’t like it. My rights and freedoms are only as solid as the rights and freedoms of those who are the most profiled, targeted and oppressed. And as of today, that feels pretty damn tenuous.
So here’s where I land, at least for now: I’m not looking to leave because I hate this country or because I’ve given up on its ideals. I’m leaving because I’ve seen too clearly how those ideals can be weaponized against the very people they’re supposed to protect. I’ve watched neighbors be indefinitely detained, prosecutors fired for refusing to play politics, and citizens threatened with prison for peaceful protest—all within walking distance of my home. At its best, the America I believe in doesn’t play favorites based on skin color or political loyalty. It doesn’t confuse enforcement with intimidation or mistake conformity for order. Maybe I’m naive to think I’ll find something better elsewhere, but I do know this: I can’t stand here and watch the rapid erosion of due process and equal protection under the law while pretending my comfort and safety somehow exist separate from everyone else’s.
ReMarkable 