LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR

Me with Heather and Jes in 1991.  We are on a ferry with the twin towers in the background.  From a video by Chris.

On our visit to New York City in 1991 we never imagined that people we had welcomed into the United States would turn out to be terrorists in 2001.  They were our neighbors. What could have been done differently to save all of the lives that were lost on 9/11?  Maybe by loving our neighbors well enough that we legislate strict immigration policies?  Israel's policy may be a good example to follow.  

Now in 2022 our immigration policy still does not work well.  We are hearing news that may be true or false.  What are we to believe?  We see "everyone doing what is right in their own eyes,"  much as in the day of the Judges in the Old Testament.  God raised up presidents and congress to help our nation but it seems our country is embattled in fighting each other instead of the real problem of evil. 

Here is what Justice Sonia Sotomeyer said about what the people of the United States should do to get along: 

SOTOMAYOR: With every single person that I meet, particularly if I disagree with them, I try to find the goodness in them. I try to find what part of them can we communicate with together. And so I may have used and I have used as an example, my relationship with Justice Clarence Thomas, I suspect that I have probably disagreed with him more than with any other justice. That we have not joined each other's opinions more than anybody else. And yet, Justice Thomas, is the one justice in the building that literally knows every employee's name. Every one of them, and not only does he know their names, he remembers their families names and histories. He's the first one who will go up to someone when you're walking with him and say, Is your son, okay? How's your daughter doing in college? He's the first one that when my stepfather died, sent me flowers in Florida. He is a man who keeps, cares deeply about the court as an institution, about the people who work there. He has a different vision than I do, about how to help people, and about their responsibilities to help themselves. I've often said to people, Justice Thomas believes that every person can pull themselves up by their bootstraps. I believe that some people can't get to their bootstraps without help. They need someone to help them lift their foot up so they can reach those bootstraps. That's a very different philosophy of life. But I think we share a common understanding about people and kindness towards them. That's why I can be friends with him. And still continue our daily battle over our difference of opinions in cases. But you really can't begin to understand an adversary unless you step away from looking at their views as motivated in bad faith. And so, yes, I have friends of all backgrounds, and friends have all political views. And I will continue to do so because that's important to me. Understanding how I can make the best pitch, long term, to achieve the goals that I think are important.

May the people of the United States listen!

Luke 10:27 He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself'".