Traffic Cones are People Too

The good people at the Traffic Cone Preservation Society enlighten us with their educational and fun guide to these oft-neglected creatures. Please take the time to learn more about the fascinating lives, myriad species and colorful history of the Traffic cone. After all, if we don't extend justice to all, we are extending justice to none.

Outside the Box - The Foreign Policy of Immigration

I've been trying to draw a line between law and justice, specifically as it relates to immigration and the ongoing immigration debate. But so far I've only talked about immigration law and border security without the wider discussion of why do people choose to come to America anyway? Certainly there are many answers to that question, but again, let's be blunt - the context of this discussion is really around emigration from our southern neighbors.

Immigration Law Has No Moral Foundation
First of all, I question whether or not illegal immigration is really a problem at all. I'm not saying it doesn't occur, I'm questioning why people who want to come to this country to work have to sneak across deserts, pay coyotes to ferry them and generally risk life, limb and property. I don't ask this question from a logistical or practical position - certainly those details need to be discussed and worked out - but rather from the standpoint of what is moral, right and just.

As I've written before, I don't see any particular moral weight to an arbitrary geographical line which some governments have decided (without asking me, by the way) delineate who rules where. Borders are, after all, simply the spoils of conquest. They are practical things, but ultimately they are imaginary, contrived and useful only to those in power. They keep us in, they keep us out. Which brings me to the core of this post - a just foreign policy.

Justice Must Be Our Policy Foundation
Before I move to the foreign, though, I must address the domestic because what I have to say applies internally as well as externally. What I would really like to see is economic justice, which must start at home. As long as we have people feasting alongside those starving, we live in injustice. As long as people go without shelter while others live on palatial estates, we live in injustice. As long as medical care goes to the wealthy, but not to the needy then, yes, we live in injustice. As long as the United States continues to have the resources to alleviate hunger, homelessness and provide healthcare to all its citizens but it does not, it remains an unjust society. We are wealthy beyond measure, yet morally bankrupt, and I am not just talking about sex, drugs and rock and roll. So even as I talk about foreign policy, what I really want is good policy - foreign and domestic. What good are governments if they can't take care of their citizens? And I mean the ones who are wealthy and powerful - the government does a fine job taking care of them.

With economic justice as a foundation, if we really were concerned about illegal immigration, we would be concerned about why people are immigrating in the first place. We know the answer, of course, work. A worker can earn more money in the United States than in many of the impoverished regions of Latin America. Even earning sub-minimum wage, workers here find a way to subsist and send money back home. I suspect given the choice, these workers would much rather stay with their families and earn the same amount where they came from. The problem is that lack of infrastructure, governmental corruption and poor economies lead to a lack of employment opportunities back home. These workers are clearly not lazy - they risk a great deal to get to the US, work exceptionally hard when they get here and continue to diligently send earnings back home to support family members. Coming here illegally is an act of desperation that a hopeless situation can be rectified, even at great cost.

Towards Economic Justice
How can it be that the United States, with its massive amounts of wealth, have neighbors to the south that are in abject poverty? The reasons are as complex and difficult as human beings themselves, but we can say with surety that just as poverty here should not exist alongside opulence, neither should poverty there. If we really cared about immigration, we would want immigration to not be last-ditch effort to provide for one's family, but a truly free choice. In order to make that so, we would work with those countries to help provide needed infrastructure - roads, water treatment facilities, electricity - as well as economic opportunities.

I recognize this is short on specifics, but as a guiding principle it seems worthwhile to help lift the economies of our neighbors. This means debt eradication, fair trade policy and aid where necessary. Prosperous people don't risk desert crossings and arrest for low-paying, hard labor. It is in our national interest to help others achieve economic prosperity, even as we attempt to bring it to all at home. I want to be clear here, however, that I do not see the United States as the savior of the developing world. What I would like to see is a United States that uses its vast wealth and resources for the benefit of humanity, instead of its detriment.

I can't help but think of the words of Christ, "To him who has been given much, much will be expected." I don't know that we've been given much, more accurately we've taken much, but the fact remains that we have much. I think it's appropriate to have great expectations for the United States, but I also worry that if wealth and resources that we have aren't used more justly, we will find them squandered or taken from us. Hopefully someday soon we'll learn to use our powers for good and not evil...hopefully.

Isaiah on Tuesday: A Spirit of Justice, A Source of Strength

The ideas that have been swimming around in my head in terms of deep thought all have to do with justice. I first started thinking somewhat deliberately about this back when I was writing about chapter 26 but have been driven much more intensely as I read Howard Zinn's Passionate Declarations, especially the current chapter on economic justice.

In terms of what that means on a practical level, I am trying to formulate a way to understand, encapsulate and communicate what justice means from a Biblical standpoint. This is no easy task, but I think it worthwhile - even critical - in terms of a full understanding of my faith. Perhaps that is why I am so drawn to Isaiah. He was unafraid to stand up to the authorities (as we'll see in this week's chapter, 28) and justice and the poor were never far from his message.

In this week's chapter, Isaiah has it in for the religious rulers of Israel, even as he proclaims a messianic message. These priests are referred to, in quite poetic fashion, as "Ephraim's drunkards." These hypocrites who declare the law with their mouths (or burble on as v. 10 seems to imply) spend their money on beer and wine. Their "visions" are blurred and "decisions" are spoken with slurred speech. Yet, one who is coming to displace the disgrace of the priesthood:

2 See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong.
Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind,
like a driving rain and a flooding downpour,
he will throw it forcefully to the ground.

"In that day" (there's that phrase again...)

5 ...the LORD Almighty
will be a glorious crown,
a beautiful wreath
for the remnant of his people.

6 He will be a spirit of justice
to him who sits in judgment,
a source of strength
to those who turn back the battle at the gate.

The unjust and foolish priesthood would be replaced by a just and eternal one. Here again we see Isaiah's ability to hear and speak of the coming Messiah:

16 So this is what the Sovereign LORD says:

"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who trusts will never be dismayed.

17 I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
and water will overflow your hiding place.

The LORD is very concerned with both justice and righteousness. They are inseparable concepts. Isaiah saw a day when those who have betrayed both justice and righteousness are replaced with one who IS (and brings) both justice and righteousness.

It is these very words that impress upon me the need to have a very clear and accurate understanding of this word "justice", especially as it is used throughout the Bible. Righteousness has never been a problem for us to understand. Jesus made very clear what righteousness is in the Sermon on the Mount. He also gave us the greatest commandments: Love God and love your neighbor.

Yet, we (I) struggle with defining and living out justice. Perhaps because it is a concept that is much fuzzier than righteousness. The bright lines of the law are blurred in circumstances and contexts. Even so, I think it is MORE important to understand justice since it is the foundation of the law (again, the Sermon on the Mount provides some direction - and there are ample other examples.) And so even as I attempt to build a clear picture of true justice, I need to deconstruct my current frameworks (particularly cultural ones) and question the very foundation of what is commonly thought of as justice.

Expect to see much more writings on this topic of justice. Until then, back to our regularly scheduled program...