Compassion for the Least of These

 

As I was checking out my newsfeed on Facebook, I saw this posted on a family member's wall the other day. It was in line with many of his public political statements so it really wasn't that unusual but I started to ponder the implications it seemed to be making.

I suppose that the originators of the meme intended to convey an image of conservative hypocrisy but maybe it was something more. By comparing the pro-life movement to the mass influx of illegal immigrant children from Central America, were they suggesting by subtle inference that conservatives were willing to just let thousands of children die?

I am not sure of how logic allows one to make this leap. Supporting an effort to deport these children back to their respective countries is not synonymous with death and was certainly not tantamount to a lack of compassion. No one has even proposed not caring for their immediate needs so why are we so divided on this?

Compassion seems to have been radically redefined into a concept that has no clear purpose. Without purpose, no beneficial outcome can ever occur. If no attempt is made to stop the current influx, where do we draw a line? The left is not clamoring about the other hundreds of millions around the world who suffer every day. Why wouldn't their sense of compassion just blindly say "tear down our borders and provide for all" regardless of our financial ability to do so? Is it compassion to pass children around from foster home to foster home? Is it compassion to have no expectations for their future other than to give them a government EBT card and drop them off in front of a Walmart?

The reality of the situation is that national sovereignty and a systematic legal process for citizenship is essential for America to do what it does well and that is being a force for good around the globe. Unsecured borders not only pose threats to our safety, culture, and national identity, they also endanger our economic system which ultimately allows America to be the number one positive change-agent both publicly and privately.

The Biblical view of compassion has no limits for those who claim Christianity but that does not void governmental laws that are put in place for our own protection. Illegally coming across or sending children across our borders in violation of immigration laws should not and cannot be answered with a response cloaked as humanitarian aide, nor should it be used to further divide our country for political purposes.

No one can really deny that America remains a beacon of hope for all the world. This is why so many attempt to enter our land, often at their own peril. By strengthening our sovereignty as a nation of laws, we ultimately strengthen our ability to help more of the poor and huddled masses just like the ones that passed through Ellis Island in pursuit of the American ideal. This is the real foundation by which compassion can take root.