The airwaves and the internet have us all
holding our collective breath until the last man is rescued from the cave in
Thailand. And yet, some have asked, “If we have that much concern about a
soccer team trapped in a cave, why don’t we care equally about 3,000 (or
however many—the number keeps changing from anywhere between 3,000 and 10,000) children
in cages? I think it’s the wrong question.
The American
people made it plain loud and clear that we care desperately about the caged
children. World leaders have joined the outcry. But those boys in the cave are
in a life-or-death situation, one with a terrible immediacy about it. At any
hour, monsoons could wipe out their escape route, dooming them. The escape
itself is full of dangers, even with skilled divers to guide them. Their window
of opportunity is short. Pray God they all escape safely and can go on with
their soccer game and their lives.
The caged
children, on the other hand, face long term consequences from their forced separation
from their parents. Even when and if—and for someit’s a big “if”—they are
reunited. Some may come out unscathed, but most will suffer the results of this
cruel treatment the rest of their lives. They will require our continued
support, and as Americans, the country that imprisoned them, I think we will
owe them that.
But I also think
as Americans we’re capable of both kinds of compassion. Worrying about one
group doesn’t cancel our worry about another. We are Americans. Our compassion is
not a finite pie with a certain number of pre-cut pieces—it is infinite, unlimited.
It expands as needed. As crisis after crisis arises, I am struck by how many
good people there are in this country. In fact, in moments of hope, I think
this current debacle may ultimately cause us to right wrongs that belong not
just to this administration but to generations before.
A specific
incident concerning the separated families sticks in my mind. By now you’ve probably
seen the video clip—it’s gone viral—of the well-dressed woman, self-identified
as a concerned grandmother, who went to a detention center, as part of a
demonstration, her arms filled with toys and stuffed animals to comfort the
children being held. Not only was she turned away, her gifts confiscated, she
was taken away in handcuffs for refusing to step back a few feet. As far as I
could tell, she did not resist the officers, she was not angry, dangerous, any
of the things you might expect. She was compliant, even submissive, so what was
her crime? Is that the point we’ve reached, where people are arrested for
caring, for trying to be kind?
And that leads me
to another question: how do the police officers who cuffed this woman feel
about their duty? How about the ICE deportation officers? Are we back to the My
Lai defense of “I was only following orders”? Who is giving those orders? I
know God’s eye is on the sparrow, but Mr. Trump’s eye is far too busy with a
golf ball to have time to reach so far down in the ranks as to command the
arrest of a grandmother bringing toys to hostage children. Is it Jeff Sessions?
I doubt he has the time either. How far down the chain of command does this
infestation (I used Mr. Trump’s word deliberately) extend?
As for the
dentist, yeah, the day was shot. Ten o’clock appointment, so I didn’t get
anything done before because I was getting ready physically and emotionally.
Two and a half stressful hours later, I walked out of the office, had lunch
with a kind friend, came home and slept for another two and a half hours. It
really did take up the whole day. Dental phobia dating back to my 1940s
childhood when the drill was slow and bumbling. So glad this day is behind me.
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