Last week, a Republican congressional candidate from Iowa said it would be a good idea to put micro-chips in illegal immigrants, just like they do in dogs. Another congressman from Texas was speaking in the U.S. House and explaining how we have stopped grasshoppers from getting into the country, so we should have no problem doing the same with immigrants.
Now, I know that neither one of these individuals or most people in the immigration debate would consciously, scientifically, or theologically put undocumented immigrants on a sub-human level. However, it seems hard to dismiss the extreme feelings of superiority that is often presented against undocumented workers. Let’s even take the term “illegal alien”. We do not use the word “alien” any more in society to refer to immigrants unless it is used in a derogatory way- to put them on a different level than us, something that is less worthy of respect and dignity.
We have to be very careful of doing this. This has always been the tactic used in society, whether it was African-Americans in the South, the Chinese in California, gypsies in Eastern Europe, the Irish in the 1800s in the U.S, or even the Jews in Germany. We want to make our “enemy” something less than human in order to justify our actions against them. Of course, this can soon spread out of control into hate and even violence.
The even bigger problem with this for those of the Christian Community is that God said that humans are created in the image of God. When we dehumanize a group of people, we are actually insulting their maker. After all the face of God is not found in some alter, church, or religious ceremony and loving God is not done through ritual or rule keeping, it is done through loving all mankind, especially the poor, foreigner in the land, and oppressed. In the midst of this debate, let us realize this important truth-we are all children of God deserving of respect, care, and dignity.
In our own lives, maybe we should examine our own sub-conscious attitudes, racism, and prejudices. We all have them, and we are limited in really engaging the love of God because of them. Sometimes, looking into the deeper and darker parts of our being is terrifying; however, when we learn to bring these feelings and attitudes to the light, hate and fear flee our being and we are filled with a greater love and compassion for all mankind.
