It is sadly obvious to me that many of the social advances we have seen the past hundred years, advances related to the dignity of the human person, have proven to be quite fragile and easily overturned. This is because we have not entirely cleansed society from the evil ideologies which undermined human dignity, nor the practices which arose from those ideologies. While we might have thought they were put in check, but even if they had, they are coming back with a vengeance; we have been way too complacent, and now we see the outcome of that complacency. Every day, I read about, and hear about, many ways these ideologies are taking control of society, each time, bringing back a horror we have been led to believe had been defeated.
The newest example of these evils can be found in a bill being debated in Mississippi (House Bill 1484); in it, not only do we find a $1000 bounty put on each and every person made in the image and likeness of God who the state deems to be an “illegal immigrant” (a definition which is fluid and changes day by day), it says all those who are captured will either be given to federal authorities to have them immediately deported or else to be imprisoned for life without eligibility for parole. This is bad enough, but we must consider, why would Mississippi do this? Would it not be extremely expensive? Not only because of the bounty being given, but also because the cost it takes to hold someone indifferently in prison? While, to be sure, the way I see this going can, for now, be said to be speculative, as it is not yet proven this is where it will go, history tells me it is the most likely situation. So, what exactly do I see happening if the bill is turned into a law? Mississippi will take those “illegal immigrants” it imprisons and force them to work, that is, they will be turned into a new slave labor force. If that is the case, then all the costs involved in collecting them and imprisoning them makes sense, as in the end, they will be turned into a cheap labor force which can be hired out and used to make a lot of money for the state.
Now, before you tell me this is nonsense, that slavery cannot be re-instituted in the United States, the reality is somewhat different. First, those in prison are not protected by the 13th Amendment, the Amendment which ended slavery, because it specifically allowed slavery to continue for those who are being punished for crimes. Second, many who would enslave them would say the 13th Amendment would not apply to them because they are not United States citizens (or those who are legally in the United States on their way to becoming citizens).
This, then, shows us what happens as a result of not being able to completely eradicate the evil ideologies of the past from society. We have a big exception put in place which allows for slavery, a reality which has led to all kinds of evils ever since the 13th Amendment was ratified. Too many prisoners have been forced into labor and treated with unjust cruelty, their human dignity undermined; many have died due to the way their lives were not protected by the rule of law or the Constitution. Their punishment did not fit their crime. This is especially true in regards the way many African Americans have been treated by the prison system. They have long been talking about this evil, because it is something which they have long experienced, and yet society has dismissed their complaints. Now, if this bill is turned into the law in Mississippi, it should not be surprising that all newly imprisoned immigrants will be forced into labor to justify keeping them alive. History, again, demonstrates this is how such mass incarceration of peoples go (see Nazi Germany). This is why we must speak out now, make sure the bill is known, hoping then to make sure that the people of the Unites States utterly reject it. If they do not, even if the bill does not pass now, it will indicate a major shift in society where such notions can be argued until at last, one state or another passes such a bill and turns it into law.
Most Americans have been raised to think slavery is a thing of the past. Most have not been properly taught of the exception put into the 13th Amendment, but those in our legislatures, those who are trying to find every exception they can to put forward the evil ideologies of old, know and plan to use the ignorance of the people to get their laws passed. Christians, who have been turned against mercy, grace, and compassion they are meant to show foreigners, will be challenged in such a situation as to what they are going to do: will they keep saying “the law is the law, and we must obey” or will they finally see the evil arising around them and resist? Sadly, because it is only a recent development which has led to the rejection of slavery in most Christian traditions, it is easy to see how that development can be quickly overturned, and all the excuses Christians used to justify slavery will once again be put forth. After all, we already see many Christians saying it is too political to speak to Trump and tell him to be merciful.
Early Christianity was led by Christians who knew their role in society; that is, they knew they must engage civil disobedience when the state made unjust demands upon them (such as sacrificing to Caesar). Those same Christians listened to Christ and followed him when he said that when they saw vulnerable in prisons, they should visit them and care for them, because by doing so, they would be seen doing so to Christ. We have lost sight of that. So many Christians think little to nothing of those in prison; they do not think of prisoners as having human dignity which should be reaffirmed and defended. It seems to me, therefore, if Mississippi decides to go forward with its cruel intentions, Christians should engage civil disobedience, just as early Christians did when Rome demanded them to act against Christ’s teachings. They must do what they can to hide and defend such migrants; they must help migrants flee from the horrors the state has planned for them, and Christians must visit them when they are caught and imprisoned. For Christians must stand with Christ, stand with the vulnerable. When they do not, though they might say “Lord, Lord,” Christ warns them, they will be told Christ never knew them, because they stood not for Christ, and Christ’s ways, but a false Christianity which undermined Christ’s teachings.
* This Is Part XXXVIII Of My Personal Reflections And Speculations Series
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