“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” — Paul McCartney
I had a long Twitter conversation with a fellow Astros fan last night following the release of a terrible story in Texas. 51 migrants were found dead in a tractor trailer and two men were charged with their deaths. She blamed the deaths on “open borders” and further wondered why Democrats were suddenly for human trafficking.
I usually let these things go. Twitter conversations are inane in nature. Nuance is never something that is best accomplished in 280 characters or less. However, I started with a basic question and ended with another basic question. The opening question? Who exactly is for human trafficking? Yet, here we were coming through that argument cycle.
See, our politics is so wrapped up in a “thoughts and prayers” model of doing business that I was almost blocked for not acknowledging the tragedy. See, I had already gone onto beginning the dialogue on solutions. I know I was wordy, but I’m a writer. Sue me. Apparently, we are supposed to wallow in somehow repetitively saying how horrible it was and not addressing the underlying issues involved.
The closing question wasn’t answered yet. If our borders are really open as you say then why are people hiding in a trailer in the first place? Wouldn’t they just come in an open vehicle and wave at everyone as they freely drive into the country? Of course, this is what happens when we avoid nuance and simply assume that something is either all one thing or all something else.
I’m not here to address immigration as an issue. It is way too complex and intricate to explore in a few paragraphs. See, that’s really the problem now isn’t it? We get the politics we consume and the politics we demand. If we consume crap and demand crap then we will get crap. If we exalt carnival barkers then we will get more carnival barkers. If we demand dialogue, thoughtful actors, and collaborative decision makers then that is what we will get.
We won’t hear talk of border walls and open borders. We won’t hear talk of Dickensian politicians killing children in cages. These things might all be true or none may be true. Yet, they are all conversation stoppers. We won’t hear talk about how needy and troubled refugees are. We won’t hear talk about how deplorable or criminal they are. You’ll simply have a conversation about who is coming across the border, why they are coming across the border, and what we can do about it.
The one think she said that stuck with me though was that there was nothing that we could do. It is a shame to feel so powerless to effect change. Even if we can’t personally do anything we can certainly demand more from our politicians. We can demand people that will work with others and not grandstand for more airtime. We can vote in November. If we feel so inclined we could get into the process ourselves. We can do more than think and pray.
halloffameindex 