Child Safety

My children (and my wife but this is about the kids) mean more to me than anyone else on this planet.  For many of us, children are our greatest investment, our greatest accomplishment, our greatest challenge, and our greatest hope for the future.  But sadly not all parents feel that way.

SCENARIO #1

If I took my 3 year old son to NASCAR Driving Experience and snuck him without the officials there knowing, without paying his fee, and without registering him and put him a car driving in excess of 100 MPH and had a wreck injuring or killing him, who would you blame?  Would it be the officials fault who had warned of the dangers of bringing someone so small along, who had no knowledge or documentation that he was even there?  No.  It would be my fault because I was the one who put my child in a dangerous situation.  

Ultimately, a child's safety falls on their parents or guardians.  My wife and I asked others and did our research about daycares and about anyone who's ever watched our children.  Yes, they have been left with someone else in charge but as parents we did our part and make sure they would be safe, that those who they would be left with, be it an individual or a daycare, knew our children's needs, knew our contact info in case of an emergency, and knew what we expected.  Parents not taking the proper steps to ensure their child's safety are neglecting their child.

SCENARIO #2

If my dad snuck me onto Augusta National (site of the PGA's Master's) without signing me in, registering me, or paying any green fees and we managed to play a couple holes before officials caught up with us, do you think they would allow me to stay and become a member?  I mean I had been there, I had participated and enjoyed some of their services, right?  No.  I was not registered, they didn't know who I was, I didn't have permission, and I hadn't paid to be there.  I would most likely be arrested for trespassing and it wouldn't be Augusta's fault.  It would be my dad's for taking me there illegally.  

Read the following quote and take a guess at who said it: "Just because your child gets across the border, doesn't mean your child gets to stay.  We don't want to send a message that is contrary to our laws or that will encourage more children to make that dangerous journey."

Trump?  Obama?  Bush?  No, that is a quote from Hillary Clinton.

The images and audio clips of children crying that the media and some politicians are sharing during this horrific time of family separation pertaining to illegal immigration are meant to tug at heart strings and sway votes, not to solve the illegal immigration problem and to reconnect families.  So what are we to do?  I'm not sure, but thankfully some people much wiser than me have offered their thoughts:

"The administration says it must separate children from parents because of the Flores agreement, a longstanding federal court settlement that bars the government from jailing migrant children.  However, critics claim that nothing legally requires migrant families to be separated while their cases are being pursued...Complicating the situation even further, some adults reportedly pose with children who are not their own.  And smugglers use rented or kidnapped children as cover." - Dr. Jim Denison

"I live in a border state.  I appreciate the need to enforce and protect our international boundaries, but this zero-tolerance policy is cruel.  It is immoral.  And it breaks my heart.  In 2018, can we not as a nation find a kinder, more compassionate and more moral answer to this current crisis?  I, for one, believe we can." - Laura Bush

"I think it's disgraceful, it's terrible, to see families ripped apart, and I don't support that one bit.  And I blame the politicians for the past twenty, thirty years that have allowed this to escalate to the point where it is today." - Franklin Graham

Dr. Denison shared additional thoughts on his Denison Forum stating that, "God's word calls us to obey the government," "Border security is biblical," and that "God loves the sojourner."  He also states how we are to love and treasure children  as the Bible calls them "a heritage from the Lord."  He offered three possible alternatives:

1.  The government could choose not to prosecute illegal immigrants which would essentially make us a country of no laws and no borders.

2.  The government could incarcerate and prosecute all illegal immigrants which causes family separation (the current policy).

3.  The government could prosecute all illegal immigrants but find a way to keep families together in shelters.  This would require an increase in manpower and asylum cases could be expedited.

He went on to add what I strongly agree with: "According to biblical worldview, when we are forced to choose between options, choose life."  This leads to my final question for some hypocritical and wavering politicians:  How can some of the same people who are so distraught and so heartbroken over the separation of illegal immigrant children from their parents have an absolute contrary belief when it comes to separating an American citizen from its mother just weeks or months prior to birth?  As Dr. Denison said, when forced to choose, choose life.