Not In My Name

I flew home from a week in Chicago yesterday evening. As I sat on the plane in my usual window seat next to two empty seats, I wondered who my seatmates might be. Soon I saw a Mother and her young son heading my way. The Mom sat on the aisle and her 3-year-old sat in the middle seat next to me. It took a few minutes before the "Little Man," as his mother called him, would talk to me. But he did introduce his stuffed moose, "Moosey," to me through his Mom.

As we were flying, the plane encountered some turbulence. Each time the plane bounced, Adam (I finally got him to tell me his name) reached over for reassurance by holding his mother's hand. A few times the bump was worse than others and Adam would drag her entire arm into his lap for comfort as he held it tightly in his little hands. It was sweet and gave me a smile remembering moments in my own son’s life when all he wanted was reassurance from me with a touch, a smile, a hug, or a simple moment of eye contact.

While watching this play out, I was also poignantly reminded of the little ones who have been separated from their parents along the southern border of our nation since May. Over 2,300 children have been separated from their parents by US Immigration policies. The stories and images are disturbing.

Whether you agree or disagree with the “zero tolerance” policy of the administration about the adults crossing the border as refugees or immigrants – I hope we can agree that ripping little kids out of the arms of their parents is just plain wrong. There are really no easy answers, but the fact remains that refugees coming into this nation for asylum need to be handled better. Immigrants can and should be treated with respect and dignity. Putting their children into cages and “tender age” facilities is wrong on every level. 

Separating children from their parents is potentially going to scar these children for the rest of their lives. Children are being terrified and there is no mother or father's hand to hold theirs. Every child should be protected from danger and fear. We are causing it right now. This is not ok.

RefuJesus by David Hayward

I know we have done wrong by too many in the past, as well – First Nations People, African Americans, Japanese Americans, and others – and we need to continue to atone for those atrocities. Now - this is our moment to say, “Not in my name. Not in our country.” Our nation can be better than this moving into the future.

Jesus calls us to act in the name of refugees as he was a refugee. Jesus calls us to treat one another in the same way we would want to be treated. Jesus calls us to welcome the little children.

Speak out, speak up. We cannot be silent on this. We cannot allow this policy to stand. 

Call your Representatives and Senators. Donate to organizations working on this along the border. 

Let’s do better. Let’s be better. Let’s all say together, “Not in my name.”