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So wrote Thomas Paine in his essay The Crisis, published near the end of the year 1776. Washington's Constitutional Army was being roundly defeated in the field by the superior British and the fledgling Republic was in danger of collapse. It was was such an inspiring call to action that Washington had it read aloud to his struggling troops at Valley Forge during the brutal winter of 1777.
Although not as a dramatic, we face a similar crisis today.
Our Republic has ceased functioning, at least in its basic form.
Congress failed to pass the spending bill necessary to fund the government and keep many essential services functioning. Of course, The Blame Game has been intense. Republicans charge the Democrats and they, in turn, return the favor. In the political tradition, both sides lobbied for concessions from the other. But, in the end, a compromise could not be reached. And, the so-called sticking point was dealing with DACA - Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals or Dreamer's Bill.
Without getting into great detail (you can do the research), DACA was a policy created by the Obama administration in 2012 that allows the children of immigrants who entered this Country illegally to stay here without penalty - UNTIL CONGRESS DEALS WITH THE ISSUE ON A MORE PERMANENT BASIS. It effects about 800,000 people today.
And, here we are.
Of course, arguments can be made on both sides. Republicans claim that this issue is intensely complicated (and, in a certain sense, it is); these people are the product of illegal immigration. And, it is true that their parents entered illegally. Therefore, their thinking is; as a NATION OF LAWS, how do we not punish those who had no choice in the matter, i.e. the children, while at the same time not rewarding the initial illegal activity by making them instant citizens. Where does one draw the line?
The Democrats counter by claiming that these Dreamers ARE Americans. America is the only country they have ever known. Many do not speak their native languages or have ever even seen their native lands. Plus, they had no choice in the decisions of the parents to come here. Children should not be punished for the sins of the father, if you will.
Ultimately, the GOP wanted to pass a limited funding bill to keep the government functioning at full capacity while the debate on DACA continued. The Democrats balked saying, the time to kick the can down the road is over - we need to support these people with a true path to citizenship NOW.
The result was - nothing - a shutdown.
And, to me, here is where The Crisis lies.
This is a question of not only law and order but, in a sense, morality and the message it sends. We ARE a nation of laws. And, NO ONE is above the law. This is an important bedrock principal of America. It is, in fact, a core value. But, America is also a nation of IDEALS. From the very beginning, our democracy was to be different. It was to be a republic established on new principals that were based on new theories - like equality and compassion. These were radical ideas at the time. They should no longer be! We've had 242 years to perfect it! It was once uniquely American - let it be again.
We are fighting for the very soul of America. We must choose what defines us as a nation.
To me, that has ALWAYS been an IDEAL - not a concrete thing.
Allow me to explain further.
It is difficult to say that someone looks American in the same way they might about certain European or Asian ethnicities. For example, because of my Sicilian ancestry, I've actually been told that I look SO Italian. I work with people who have Irish ancestry and they look SO Irish, and so on. Yet, we are ALL Americans. And, that's my point - being American is not a face or even a place - it's an IDEAL - one that promises if you work hard and contribute, you can have a future here.
Why should we prevent these innocent people from making that their own reality?
Let me finish by leaving you with a definition. I believe that within it lies the key to the American soul. Some will call it foolish nonsense. I call it the fearless essence of America:
compassion
[kuh m-pash-uh n]
1.
a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortuneaccompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.
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