I am by nature an obedient person, the good child who avoided dangerous situations lest I might have caused undue worries for my widowed mother. I have been known as a “goody two shoes,” someone who walks away from risky moments. I have lived a lawful life for over seventy decades, paying taxes on earned income that came in the form of cash and would never have been traced back to me. I stop at a red light in the middle of the night when nobody is around. I do not boast about such things. it is simply who I am. I try to be honest and thoughtful but at the same time I have a protective streak that runs deeply into my soul.
I have a tendency to attempt to rescue people and in many cases I have been successful. In my mind every single human has value regardless of the sins that he or she has committed. I have learned how to separate the bad deeds from the persona of an individual. Nonetheless I agree that there are times that the road to salvation for someone who has done egregiously horrific things resides in contrition and appropriate punishment. There is evil that is seemingly beyond our human absolution and must ultimately be judged by a higher spirit. Nonetheless, the vast majority of humans want to be good but may falter now and again. Taking them to task for their transgressions requires great wisdom and patience because the ultimate goal should be to help them to change, not to so demean them that they become seemingly unsalvageable.
We live in a society that adheres to a continuum of justice. Some believe that only strict rules and unwavering punishments will lead to a better society. Others feel that finding the reasons for bad or illegal behavior should always be part of an attempt to not just punish but also to change the thinking and direction of those who flaunt the rules of society. There are even those who feel strongly that in certain situations it is paramount to disobey rules or laws that are obviously unfair and dangerous for everyone.
I remember a time when my teacher became frustrated with some of my classmates that she believed were behaving badly. She took out her anger on all of us as though we had somehow been in league with the so called “bad seeds.” I had no idea who was actually the target of her ire but I had to sit quietly listening to her harangue and then stay after school writing sentences until I had completed the requirements that she imposed on all of us. Because I work slowly I was one of the last students to finish the assignment. When I turned it in to her she quietly whispered that she knew that I had done nothing wrong but that she had to punish everyone to be fair.
Of course even as young as I was then I understood the unfairness of what had happened. Blaming and punishing innocents to make a point does little more than make even the nicest person want to rebel. I lost all respect for my teacher and actually began to think that the trouble makers who had been taunting her may have had a point. I saw that just because someone in authority creates a command or a rule does not mean that it is appropriate or even legal. This teacher taught me to be wary of authoritarian policies and the people who enforce them. She demonstrated the classic behavior of someone who uses force to maintain control.
We are in an dangerous situation as citizens of the United States at the present moment. We know that there are indeed people living among us illegally. Some of them quietly work and stay to themselves without breaking additional laws and others commit heinous crimes. There are also immigrants who came to this nation legally and are working to eventually gain status as citizens of our nation. Somehow in the quest to eliminate the worst of the lot, even some who were born here but look foreign are being targeted indiscriminately by ICE.
ICE is forcing its way into homes without warrants. It is arresting people showing up for legal hearings related to their citizenship. It is going to schools and using children to get to their parents. They are behaving like the teacher for whom I lost all respect by casting a net so wide that many innocents are included in their reckless endeavors. All one need be is dark skinned or someone who speaks with an accent or someone with a foreign sounding last name to be stopped and sometimes taken away. Little wonder that American citizens are now attempting to help those being assaulted so lawlessly just to meet quotas.
Our Founding Fathers wrote a Declaration of Independence and in doing so they were breaking the laws of the king. If captured when they met to write a Constitution they might have been hanged. They were considered by the King of England to be dangerous traitors subject to the full force of punishment. Because they understood the most egregious behaviors of the authoritarian government under which they suffered as colonists they created the Bill of Rights. to protect themselves from anyone who would ever deign to rule without regard to what they believed to be their prevue as free citizens. The Bill of Rights are as follows:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.”
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.”
“In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.”
“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Read these directives and know that we the people have certain rights that are being ignored in particular by ICE. We have the right to demand that they be held accountable. We have the right to speak out against their methods and protest what they are doing. We have the right to insist that they do not randomly break into homes without warrants or force people out of their cars without due cause or throw people to the ground and kill them for legally carrying a gun or raid schools to terrorize children. It is not up to those protesting the behaviors of ICE to just comply. Our Founding Fathers understood human nature and set up guardrails to protect us from anyone who would misuse the power of the government. It is up to ICE and the president to follow the laws of the land. It is clear that those rules are being flaunted and we the people have had enough!
All It Takes Is A Little Love 