The Cost of Humanity

The Cost of Humanity

  By now, most of us have read or heard about the story of Jesus Navarro, the man in California who needs a kidney transplant; briefly, Mr. Navarro has private insurance through a job that he worked for 14 years and he has his own kidney donor...his wife. In fact, the only thing Mr. Navarro is missing is a green card, He is an undocumented resident, and has been such for at least the [last 14 years. However, like it or not, the law states that he can not receive organ transplant surgery due to his citizenship status. To be specific, Mr. Navarro can not receive the surgery which will quite possibly save his life, but he can DONATE a kidney or any other organ...to save someone else...citizen or not.

  I am not disputing the cost of healthcare. I am completely aware of how expensive it is getting to be ill, every time I visit my doctor. It has been stated that the reason Mr. Navarro cannot have the surgery is because he may not be able to afford the medicine that will follow the procedure. This is definitely a very sad situation, not only sad but ridiculous when you look at the larger picture.

  This is not just an undocumented resident; he is a husband and father. He has a family that, without this surgery, will be planning a funeral far too soon. This follows me reading about, Amelia Rivera, a 3 year old who needs a kidney transplant and was denied because the administrators of the hospital said she was mentally “retarded”. SO...this child could possibly die from kidney failure, and because of her mental capacity. She is not eligible for a transplant.

  I know there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of Jesus Navarro’s in this country. It is actually that idea that prompted me to write about this.  I have never looked at human beings as countrymen or citizens of one country or another. I have never made a decision about one person or the next based on any monetary label. People are people; we are all different in one fashion or another.

  What I fail to understand is the logic behind having the ability to add years to a person’s life and then choosing not to. What have we become? When did a person who is not a resident of this country become expendable? We are so far away from where we are supposed to be, as human beings. This could not be what God wants for and from us. I was so disappointed in us, as children of one Creator, to know that the lines that make us different are actually becoming terminal. We are devaluing human life...placing a price tag on how much we will reach out for other people.

  Regardless of the politics behind the decision to not help these two children of God and others exactly like them, we should all be ashamed. We should find equal shame in the decision makers in these matters; and in those of us, who sit back and agree, by way of our silence.

  Love thy neighbor...not love only our documented countrymen...not only the healthy...but all walks of life. What is guiding us? When did we fall off of our paths? Often we get tested, it may be those very tests that display to our Creator what and who we really are. I pray no one gets judged based on these two cases, because the outlook looks grim.

  How much does humanity cost? Whatever the price tag...I pray that you can afford it. May the grace of God guide you all.

The Race is On

The Race is On

    What do you call it when a police officer can stop a driver of a car, for what ever traffic violation, and ask for verification of legal status in this country? What would you call it if I told you that if that individual didn’t have the documentation on his person, that he could be detained up to 48 hours, until further verification can be made?

 What would you say if I told you that it is not only a violation of the Fourth Amendment to detain anyone for the sole purpose of verifying immigration status, but also has never been required for Americans to even carry Government issued identification at all times.

What if I told you that if you gave a neighbor a ride to Wal-Mart, and got pulled over for a broken tail light, and your neighbor turned out to be an illegal immigrant…that you could charged with a criminal offense of harboring an illegal immigrant and charged up to $20,000 and sentenced up to 5 years in jail? I wonder what would happen if you were a taxi driver, or a greyhound bus driver, given those circumstances.

 What if you were told that as an employer that you had to E-Verify all employees if you have 10 or more, even if in the case of Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting, the Federal Government explicitly told the Supreme Court that the E-Verify program was strictly voluntary, and any state requiring employers to participate is to be preempted by federal law?

  Welcome to Georgia’s Illegal Immigration Enforcement and Reform Act!!!!

   Let’s just call this what it is….RACIAL PROFILING. And now the state of Georgia, just like the state of Arizona has made Racial Profiling a part of their daily life.

 I mean, lets be real, how do I determine who to ask for legal status? What guidelines do I have to tell me who to ask and who not to ask; keeping in mind that it is all going in to a database?

 Racial Profiling is very real, and it is being used to cause further separation of our country from within its own borders. I am sure I don’t need to remind anyone that the United States was never anything but a giant sanctuary for immigrants…and now we are punishing people for doing just that.

 I can not determine if this is more frightening than it is sad, or vice versa. We can not continually stand firmly silent on issues that seriously undermine what this country was built on.

 I have often been told that my ideas of peace and love of my fellow being…is made up of  unrealistic hopes and dreams; but the truth is that is exactly what people come to this country for. Can you remember when this country stood on the premise that anything was possible here, because we live by the standard that we are an extremely diverse and accepting culture? What has happened to us? Why are we allowing the very government we created to dictate to us…and instill in us….fear? We fear what we do not know and instead of reassuring us; our government is infringing up on us…what an American REALLY is or is not.

  We are all diverse…we come from different cultures, societies, religions and beliefs. But when we lose track of the knowledge that WE ARE ONE…we all lose.

Please join me in asking President Obama to help put an end to Racial Profiling.

http://www.rightsworkinggroup.org/content/sign-petition-tell-obama-take-action-stop-racial-profiling