'Don't Think Twice; It's Alright' and Maxine Waters

 As I start to write my last blog, having written not a whole lot more than, "I think twice on Maxine Waters," I'm on YouTube, and mercy me if a song doesn't come on titled, "Don't think Twice, It's Alright." I wonder if the heavens are imploring me to accept the my first thought instead of thinking twice. I wonder if I'm getting a message suggesting that what Maxine Waters is doing is alright.
   Don't know if that is the case, but it's normal enough to wonder.
   The man in the song is leaving home because he has been abused by his wife. Now, I don't normally believe in families being broken up; I don't believe in husbands leaving their wives. But, the man in the song was treated so poorly, he left his home to escape it.
   Now, there's more than one way you can go as you look for an analogy. If we are to find a message in the song, and apply it to immigration, what shall the message be? Looking at the story in the song, I can see at least two possibilities:
   (1) Even as in the song, the man was driven out of his home because of ill treatment, so it is with the immigrants: They have sometimes been mistreated in their home countries. We might be inclined to tell them not to leave home, but to stay there and work things out by bettering their home counties. But, maybe sometimes things are so bad, we should understand when they feel the need to flee. just as the man in the song fled to escape his abusive wife.
   (2)  Even as the husband in the song leaves his wife to migrate about, and that is what causes the breakup of his family (him and his wife), even so the migrating of the parents into another country is what brings to pass the breakup of the children from their parents'. And, just as the man's leaving his wife is not a good thing -- it is the breakup of that family -- even so separating the children from their parents is not a good thing, but it is simply what happens. So, as so many are arguing, if you don't want to lose your children, don't leave your home country to migrate to America.
    I'm not saying whether I endorse that second thought, I'm just saying it is one of the things you could take out of the song if you are looking to apply the song to immigration. And, I guess I'm crazy enough to look for messages when I write, "I think twice on Maxine Waters," only to have a song titled, "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," come on.

Do I not Need to Think Twice on What Maxine Waters is Doing?

   I think twice on Maxine Waters. As long as she does not call for harm to come to them, is her calling for cabinet members to be confronted in public places acceptable? Is it just raising your voice to voice what you believe in -- and what you oppose?
   It is just raising a voice of alarm against what is wrong -- raising a hand to say the injustice has got to stop?
   Is it just another rendition of Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take it!"?
   Maybe leave out the part about, "No Sleep, No Peace," though. Calling for people to be so harassing that another person cannot sleep seems a bad thing to do.
   Protesting is not wrong, done peacefully. Calling on your leaders to mend their ways can be a good thing.
   Then, I think again. I think how we need to be more civil with each other -- both sides, including those who condemn Maxine Waters, but even while in the act of doing so, they themselves use hateful language.
   I believe we need to respect each other -- respect each other's believes. Protesting can be good, but why not just chants of, "Save the kids -- Reunite them!" or, from Maxine's own speech, "There will be no wall built on the backs of these children"?
   Stating your belief can be done without personal attacks. I wonder if hate begets hate, and personal attacks beget personal attacks, as President Trump so often launches personal attacks against those who oppose him. Are they just reacting in kind?
 

With power
 comes an obligation to those you 
have power over

   We often speak of serving your constituents, referring to the people from the state or district that elected you. And, while they would be the primary constituents, you cannot escape your responsibility to any who be impacted by the decisions you make. Fairness of mind, and fairness of character charge you with the responsibility to be fair to all who will be impacted by your decisions.    You should love all mankind and not want to wrong or harm or do injustice to anyone. So, the laws you make should come only after you consider on what they will do to others, on whether they will reflect a love of all those who will be impacted. Love of all mankind means love of all mankind. 
   So, what then of the immigrant? I would suggest we have an obligation to them. Whatever laws we make, those laws should be fair to them, and do them no harm nor injustice. More: When possible, the laws we make should help and care for them, for that is the measurement of love.

"It's not a matter of space; 

It's a matter of heart." 

-- Kyle Poulter

 Do we have space for all those who would come to America? Is that really why we are limiting immigration? Or, is there another reason we have pulled back on how many people we let in?

We Should ask if Our Laws are Just

  We are big on rule of law, but shouldn't we also ask if our laws our just? I think of Vicky Chavez, who with her two children is holed up in a church in Salt Lake City to avoid deportation. I wonder if a case like hers should make us wonder. A young mother who doesn't appear to be doing any harm to America by being here, why should we insist she leave? Is she a thief, a drug runner, or a terrorist? Not likely. So, why do we not want her? If we can see she is doing no harm, why do we think it so imperative to kick her out? 
   Are laws just when they take good people and make them illegal? I don't know how endangered she will be if she goes back to Honduras. If she is endangered there, of course she should be allowed to stay here in America. And, even if she isn't endangered, if we had just laws, perhaps we would be letting her stay. 
  Maybe we should cry for our nation. What have we become, that we do not allow good people (a certain set of them) to live among us? Laws that are unjust should be changed. We should be as concerned about having unjust laws as we are about the laws we have being kept.

I'm wondering 

if we ought to gift the Statue of Liberty

 to Germany

Just kidding, of course. But, you know, while we ridicule the idea of open borders, some countries actually have them, Germany perhaps being the foremost among them.

There's a Better Way to Run an Investigation

   What I suggested in yesterday's blog will quickly be lost, even in my own writings being covered over quickly by a flood of new blogs. But, oh that we could see the difference in the way we do things with they way it could be done. Oh, that we could see there is a better way to do things than what we are doing.
  The Russian investigation has taken better than a year, you say?
   And, if we were to take all the principals -- all those who know something -- they might be able to say everything they have to offer, one after another, and have everything said within a day? Well, is this not true? If they were all honest and truthful and forthright people -- people not afraid to share all that they knew -- and they each took their moment to say all that they knew, how much time would it take for them to say everything? I really cannot imagine it would take so much as, say, four days.
   Getting everyone who is involved to simply tell the truth, and the whole truth, right from the start would be a better way to run investigations. We are America. We should seek to do things the right way. Frankly, I do believe this is the right way to run an investigation.