Donald Trump made a Biblical fool of himself when he couldn't state "2 Corinthians" correctly. Worse than being unable to state scriptural text, was the inability to understand the meaning of the passage.
Unfortunately, America's right wing Republican party might be adept at reciting scriptural text and references, but they ignore the meaning of the words they often memorize. This is particularly true when faced with the immigration issue.
Recently, Maine's Governor Paul LePage made immigrants and asylum seekers the victims of his horrible racist rhetoric. There's absolutely no reason, whatsoever, for Governor LePage to stigmatize immigrants and asylum seekers. LePage stereotyped them with terrible lables, called them names and accused them, without cause, of carrying "germs" into Maine. What's worse, Governor LePage ignores the reality of his own family. In fact, he grew up in Lewiston, Maine, in a family directly related to French-Canadian immigrants! When Governor LePage ran for office, he was complimented for being a Franco-American. Now, unfortunately, he has become an embarrassment to his heritage.
Now, the Holocaust and Human Rights Center on the campus of the University of Maine Augusta (UMA), has published an open letter to challenge the unjust ethnic criticisms of Maine's immigrants and asylum seekers. Shame on Governor Paul LePage!
Here is the text of the HHRC letter:
In the wake of the world's response to the (terrorist) tragedies in Paris and turmoil in Beirut this week (recently) our (Maine Governor LePage) Governor has announced that he would oppose any efforts to bring Syrian refugees to Maine. While our history is crowded with efforts to limit groups of people from coming to the US, there is little question that immigration has been one of the most important factors in making the US a world power, and is, arguably, the key to Maine's success as a state.
U.S. law is very clear on immigration. The issue is under Federal control, based on article six of the US Constitution, and has been reviewed several times by the Supreme Court,most notably in Hines vs Davidowitz in 1941. (Under the preemption doctrine, enforcement of a state alien registration law was barred by the federal Alien Registration Act.)
Maine Governor Samuel Cony (Governor 1864-1867) b. 1811 d. 1870 in Augusta ME "...invite the freest immigration...."
This fall, at the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine, we have had a chalkboard in the lobby asking visitors, "What Country Are Your Ancestors From?" After two months, the board is filled with answers that reveal that Maine, like the rest of the country, is made up of people from all over the world. Of course, we'd expect to see Canada, France, Ireland, England, Sweden, Germany, Finland and mostly western European countries listed on the board. But, we might be surprised to see Guam, Jamaica, Belarus, Senegal, Lithuania, Cuba, Haiti, Somalia, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Russia, Poland, China, Humgary, Turkey, Brazil, Iceland, Australia, Rwanda, Lebanon and Sudan were listed; and, of course, a few people wrote that their ancestors are Native Americans.
It's interesting to note that our post Civil War interest in immigrants was fueled mostly by the fact that so many of our Maine boys got out, saw the possibilities in the rest of the country and decided not to come back home. That's what caused Governor Cony to make his bold statement that immigrants would be welcomed in Maine.
A few years later, Maine's Civil War hero Joshua Chamberlain was Governor. He encouraged Maine residents to think differently about the issue of the outward migration of our youth. "We have been too long content with the doubtful compliment that 'Maine is a good State to go from.' She must be made a good State to come to and to stay in." We've complained for about 150 years now about our young people leaving, perhaps it's time for us to revisit that argument as well. Maybe, we should try harder to welcome everyone who wants to come to Maine or stay in Maine. And yes, that includes immigrants and the children of immigrants.
Maine is a rich tapestry made up of individuals from around the world, and while we know that most immigrants and all refugees are vetted, we disagree with the concept that someone should be considered subversive or a danger to the American people simply because of their country of origin, religion, color of their skin, sexual orientation, or any other broad measure of a group of people. That's surely not an American or Maine measure of a person. As Dr. (Martin Luther) King suggested, many years ago, we should measure people by the content of their character. Maine's character is clearly composed of people from all over the world. Rather than opposing those who would seek refuge in a safe land and contribute to our society, we should embrace them and remember, in their quest for a new home, they're very much like our own ancestors.
Written by David Greenham, Program Director, Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine.
Obviously, Republicans have a big problem understanding the Scripture they claim to revere. 2 Corinthians. Sadly, they do not advocate for the intent of this Biblical passage. For selfish reasons, Republicans do not believe in providing liberty for those who are seeking the spirit of freedom.
