RECORD DEPORTATIONS — Hard to
understand, impossible to justify.….
From the beginning of his
first term, Obama has been submerged in conflicting currents. Whatever his
personal commitments to peace, civil liberties. economic and social justice, they
are countered by the conviction that he must prove his credibility as head of
the world’s primary imperial power and commander-in-chief of its vast military establishment.
So, much as I strongly oppose
the catastrophic NSA surveillance dragnet and the ghastly drone program, I’m
not surprised by Obama’s stance. And I can still recognize positions that
distinguish Obama from war hawks like John McCain and support his preference
for peace (e.g. negotiations with Iran).
But why is the Obama
Administration breaking all records for deportations? How can Obama stand by —
no, actually enforce — the cruel destruction of families, seizing parents away
from their children, wrecking marriages, separating brothers and sisters? His
only answer, breaking the inexplicable silence, is that it’s up to Congress (this
worst Congress since the time of slavery) to produce “reform”.
Is there no dramatic action
Obama can take? Why can’t the President take this elementary human and moral
issue forcefully to the people, with confidence in the conscience of the nation
(most of it anyway)?
What would happen if the
President said: “Stop”? What if, as a matter of conscience, the Administration
refused to continue enforcing current policies of large-scale deportation?
No comments:
Post a Comment