In every society, human beings do pro social things and antisocial things. This is the existential reality of humanness: our better angels v worse angels, both types in each of us. This fact motivates a huge part of religion. Why did God make us this way? What is our challenge in individual and communal life as we grapple with human good and bad, in ourselves and in society? And of course, our criminal justice systems are based on the effort to shield the good from the bad, while dealing with those who’ve done bad. Given that immigrants are humans, of course they collectively will do both good and bad, just as citizens will. How, then, does deportation—banishment—based on the utterly impossible and vindictive demand that a group of humans be superhuman, acknowledge the sacred reality of our common humanness? I’m asking as an atheist but one who deeply believes in the better angels of our commonweal.
What do you think? Do you agree that migrants shouldn’t be deported just because they have a criminal conviction or do you think deportation is justified when migrants break the law?
In every society, human beings do pro social things and antisocial things. This is the existential reality of humanness: our better angels v worse angels, both types in each of us. This fact motivates a huge part of religion. Why did God make us this way? What is our challenge in individual and communal life as we grapple with human good and bad, in ourselves and in society? And of course, our criminal justice systems are based on the effort to shield the good from the bad, while dealing with those who’ve done bad. Given that immigrants are humans, of course they collectively will do both good and bad, just as citizens will. How, then, does deportation—banishment—based on the utterly impossible and vindictive demand that a group of humans be superhuman, acknowledge the sacred reality of our common humanness? I’m asking as an atheist but one who deeply believes in the better angels of our commonweal.
What do you think? Do you agree that migrants shouldn’t be deported just because they have a criminal conviction or do you think deportation is justified when migrants break the law?