Today's MOZEN: History Will Judge US

Photo: Julia Le Duc, AP

First, the photo shocks. Then, it saddens before it turns to a sickening anger. A young father and his toddler daughter lie face down, arm in arm, on the banks of the Rio Grande river in which they drowned together. Their names are Oscar Alberto and Valeria Ramirez. It's the type of photograph that can, and SHOULD, spur people into immediate action.

It has, if you will forgive the irony, become the face of the human tragedy that is emblematic of our Immigration policy (or, lack of one) on the Southern border.

And, it's shameful.

Any society will be judged by history on how it treats the least fortunate within its care. And, I don't give a shit if you say that these people should not be in our care. We will be judged harshly because the reality is that THEY ARE.

It's true, tens of thousands, mostly families, are leaving hellish conditions in their own countries (often caused by policies instituted on behalf of the US government) for the promise of a better life here. It is overwhelming the border, largely because our policy to deal with them is not only inept, it's draconian. So much so that, apparently, this young father and daughter risked their lives by attempting to swim the width of the river because there was no means for them to processed the so-called legal way.

And, they come because they believe in the promise of America, the soul of America. Perhaps, you've forgotten. It's enshrined on a bronze plague at the base of this huge statue that dominates New York harbor. It reads :

 "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

So, it's pretty simple to me: you either hold this in your heart and soul, or you don't. And, it's getting to the point where we know EXACTLY who does and who doesn't. I know where mine lies. How about you?

photo: F LoBuono