Tuesday night, the Auburn University College Democrats held a non-partisan forum addressing Alabama's new immigration law which went into effect the day before.
The moment of the evening came when Paul Harris of the Department of Political Science asked the audience, "What kind of society will we choose to be?"
Of course, the exhaustive conservative political points were raised at the forum by audience members who argued Alabama's minuscule immigrant population is a collection of lawbreakers and that the federal government has failed to curb illegal immigration. That might as well be tabled, for even though President Barack Obama's administration is deporting immigrants at a dramatically faster rate than his predecessor, George W. Bush, somehow it will never be enough.
The real theme of the night was truly Harris's question. With House Bill 56, Alabama has reaffirmed its position as the historical Mecca for bigotry and xenophobia. "Come in if you look like us, get out or shut up if you don't."
If hate is what Alabama's best at, going to church is certainly a close second. Growing up in a Catholic family, I was always taught that all Americans were created equal and that we were a society of laws. But even more important than that, I was taught every human being on this planet is equal under God's eyes.
Though the Right has played on cheap fears by demonizing immigrants as criminals and job stealers, any Christian who truly believes in the principles of Jesus Christ cannot accept this bill. What happened to being your brother's keeper and loving thy neighbor?
Until we change our view on this issue and seek a perspective that recognizes the reality that in the end we are all human beings, regardless of lines on a map, we will spiral ever further down this well of fear and hate under the guise of "the law."
So let's seek a human perspective. Let's strive for that value that is so often lost in this individualistic society: empathy.
What would you do if you lived in a region where the necessities of life are not guaranteed, where bodies are dumped off of highway overpasses, where centuries of colonization and exploitation have left an entire race of people broken and impoverished? How far would you go to feed your family?
If we are to preserve the American dream, we must remember we are all descendants of immigrants. None of us were here first.
We were given the Statue of Liberty as a reminder from the world that the United States is a nation of people who came to this land from a far away place only to seek a better life.
Again, we must ask ourselves, "What kind of society will we choose to be?"
Eric Austin
junior, political science
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