Turning Point

“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless.” (Isaiah 1:17 NIV)

I saw a video today that moved me profoundly. A scared little girl, whose father is being detained by immigration officials, spills all her thoughts and emotions while sobbing uncontrollably. She voices what millions of immigrants in the U.S. are feeling--terrified, powerless, oppressed, unworthy.

The current persecution of immigrants, whether legal or illegal, has to be shocking to every decent human being. How can anyone ignore or justify treating others as subhuman? There has to be a turning point soon. As Winston Churchill said: “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing--after they’ve tried everything else.” I believe that what is represented by this period in history is an anomaly, that America is better than this. It has to be! 

During the Civil Rights Movement, certain images of injustice--like the police turning dogs and fire hoses on protestors and businesses that refused to serve people of color--turned public opinion. The laws that supported segregation were changed, because the majority of voters realized that they were inhumane. I pray that racialized immigration policies will soon be a thing of the past. I hope that we will learn to do right, seek justice, defend the oppressed, and take up the cause of the powerless.