A minister in our community recently warned about` the dangers of attempting to render the complex web of American stories into one absolute, value laden, dominant story.  Americans are a tapestry of dynamic, powerful stories in interaction with evolving communities of all colors changing all the time. The near miraculous paradox of America is it’s maddening diversity has not so much melted together as it has achieved creativity out of recreation and need.  We have in the past created unifying links out of necessity, rather than concentration camps out of desperation.  Unity among diverse humans takes courage. Uniformity requires only one design, sewing machines for simple uniforms, and campfire songs to which youth can march.

This Project suggests swapping out the American melting pot metaphor for  “Creativity out of Plurality”.  What harm could it do?   We clearly are no longer the ‘most powerful’ nation in the traditional sense of the world.  Also, even as our current administration so covets the unearned greatness of reputation, our actions and words recently have  forfeited our mantel of leadership in the world.  But that said ,this American culture has a history of being amazingly creative in science, arts, literature and technology.  The creativity of America is not just boosted “a little” by our plurality, but rather arises almost entirely out of plurality.  We are cutting a main artery of our country’s vitality in this most recent deportation debacle of injustice. The worst possible thing that could happen to our country is to lose the ability to accept immigrants as they come.   Our focus needs to be to work toward cultivating the diverse authorities, talents and even genius coming from immigrants and their children through systems of just integration and inclusion.  Why throw out the one gift that has served this nation so consistently for 250 years despite our abuses and mistakes?

Modest Proposal for Good

The idea of completely open borders may be just as ludicrous as the current approach to immigration and immigrants is cruel and unjust.   The Good Decision for the immigrants “yes or no” needs to be designed to work in its administration on the human scale of timing observing certain human values and rights.  The refusal of this administration to even reasonably talk about immigration legislation may be the larger crime of the time. Every day our nation fails to talk about the decision models for immigration translates to lives, livings, vocations, children and families destroyed or traumatized.  There really is no alternative to this modest proposal but to honestly and truthfully face our job of integrating and including the wealth of human tides. That would be good.

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