Let the children come.

And you taught your people, by these deeds,
that those who are just must be kind;

These words from the Sunday readings (Wis. 16-19) stuck in my mind when I read them. I immediately connected them to the current crisis at our borders, the influx of children from Central American countries. I guess this issue has stuck in my craw recently.

The news stories and video clips of outraged American who vehemently oppose the entry of these children do offer some valid reasons for their opinions. The disorderly way in which their entry is accomplished certainly is a disgrace. One would think a well-organized government with ample warning would have better planned for this event. It is embarrassing for the wealthiest country in the world to be so ill prepared.

Some objections include the possibility of introducing disease, the concern that some of these children may be criminals or gang members and the possibility that in such a large and disorganized movement of people there may be those who wish to do harm to the United States. To those who are more compassionate and less cynical these objections may seem to be grasps at straws, but a rational mind could find them reasonable.

The children pass through our neighbor, the country of Mexico. Mexico is complicit in this migration of children, yet, no word is heard from them nor any assistance offered. Neither do we hear from our diplomatic officials any request that Mexico take some responsibility for the safety and care of the children on this purportedly dangerous journey and the slipshod way in which they travel through Mexico. I think Americans are right to be upset by countries that seek and benefit from United States economic aid and supportive trade policies and in turn offer a blind eye.

And you taught your people, by these deeds,
that those who are just must be kind;

Notwithstanding the above considerations there are reasons why the United States should gladly accept the children into our country. The Central American countries from which these children are fleeing are losing their most valuable assets, their children. These children represent for these countries their best hope for a brighter future. Rather than looking to the future of their countries, their leadership prefers the selfish and short term gains they acquire by shipping their children north. Their loss could be our gain.

The penchant for shortsightedness is not an attribute solely confined to the Central American countries. We in the United States suffer from the same disease. We are concerned with the sacrifices we may have to make in order to provide food and medical care and education to all these children. We fear the increased costs to our welfare system by introducing more people without jobs into a population in which there already are millions without jobs. We fear the lawlessness characteristic of the way in which the children are entering the country will turn into a lawlessness when they are eventually integrated into our culture. 

These are all sacrifices that would have to be endured by accepting the children. Yet we pay little attention to the fact that having children and educating children is the greatest thing we can do to assure a secure future and a continued success of the great American experiment.

We prefer instead to focus on issues like equal pay for women, equal rights for those of different sexual persuasions and investment in alternative energy sources. We consider education to be important, but the issue to which the most attention is given is the compensation given to teachers and the pensions provided them when they retire. These are important issues. They pale in comparison however to the fact that the American middle class has a birth rate barely at replacement levels. Many of our young adults consider marriage and having children to be a burden. They consider this to be something they may do once they are through enjoying life. Some married couples may even consider having a child as just another acquisition along with a home in the suburbs and two rather sporty cars in the driveway. I hope I'm not being too hard on us.

We take the greatest gift given to us by God, our ability to co-create with him, and we turned it into a burden or some mechanical process that allows us to acquire a possession. We fail to see in children the hope for the future that they embody. This applies to all children, not just children born of Americans or South Americans or Central Americans. Sure, it may take a generation or two in order for a child to bear fruit for the society in which they live. But can there be any more fruitful investment that can be made for the future of our country and the culture of freedom it has produced in the last 250 years. So I say let the children come. 

 And you taught your people, by these deeds,

that those who are just must be kind;