Originally posted by Administrator:
Ryan,
Thank you for your post.
I attributed no emotional intent to you at all. It was [b]your use of the words
�gotten hostile� that made your apology insincere.
Moderators will certainly disagree with one another. I have not seen any of them publicly assigning motives of hatred toward another poster. The reason we have moderators from across the spectrum is so that all viewpoints are respected.
Your suggestion that I despise your views is incorrect and I�m not sure why you keep making it. As I have already stated a number of times, I disagree with some of what you have posted, since it seems to smack of the �forget law and order and just do what is right� variety of social justice. I also know that your intent is ultimately for the good and I have no doubt that you are a good person.
But let�s review the substantive portion of our disagreement.
I believe that we should welcome immigrants in a legal fashion (double or triple the annual number we welcome now) and that we should be treat them with hospitality. I believe that we should secure the borders so that we can keep out people who are criminals in their home country as well as those who would come here purposely to do us harm (terrorists). I believe that we should find a way to grant legal status to those who came here (with good will) without putting them ahead of the line before those who followed all the rules to come here. I believe that we must care for the poor among us and across the entire world, and that in some cases this care must take the form of cajoling governments to make changes so their people can have the liberty and opportunity to create better lives for themselves (so that they do not have to leave their homes for a better life).
I still do not understand why you think my position is so utterly unacceptable or what your position actually is. I again invite you to demonstrate where you believe my position falls away from Catholic Teaching.
Two more things.
First, you will note that there are people who post here with very different views. They cover the entire political and religious spectrum (from extreme left to hard right politically and morally conservative to morally liberal). These views are always welcome so long as they are presented with charity and with the assumption that the other poster intends to be charitable. Assigning motives of �hostility� to another crosses the line into uncharity. Posts are to be interpreted in the best light possible. If you see one that you believe is uncharitable, then use the report a post feature and explain exactly what it is in that post that you believe is uncharitable. That way a moderator can understand both sides.
Second, I learned a long time ago that when I am demonstrated to be mistaken the best thing to do is to acknowledge it without any �buts�. Posters here regularly provide evidence of my mistakes. When they do I always �stand corrected� and re-evaluate my position based upon the facts. A simple "stand corrected" or apology without �but if�s� ends the matter quickly. [Those who don�t believe this need to just watch our politicians on both sides of the aisle �open mouth and exchange feet� for apologies that start with �If anyone was offended I apologize�. An apology like that always makes me complete the thought for them ��and if no one was offended I don�t apologize.�]
John / Admin
[/b]
John:
I read your post very carefully. I really think that your stance on how to deal with immigrants is one of the more charitable ones I've heard. I also think that I can be persuaded that your goal of a secure border is a position I could ultimately accept-with certain conditions, or at least two conditions. My first condition would be that we end our hypocritical policy with respect to Cubans (and I'm a little reluctant to say this since I've had so many Cuban friends over the years). Cubans who enter the country illegally cannot be deported. Now I have no sympathies whatsoever with Fidel Castro and I personally welcome any and all Cubans who wish to escape the misery that has been caused by Castro. However, it seems unfair to me that of all the illegal immigrants who enter our country, only Cubans have this status. Haitians who are captured by the Coast Guard are routinely returned to Haiti-a country where the poverty is even worse that that in Cuba. My second condition would be that we also consider that those who would seek to enter the country to commit acts of terror may possibly come by way of Canada, and not Mexico, and impose greater scrutiny on the Canadian border than is currently the case.
I appreciate greatly your willingness to allow those who are already here and have no malevolent intent to stay-I'm sure you're aware that many of them have children who were born here (making them US citizens) and have lived here their entire lives.
So I don't take issue with most aspects of your position. What was frustrating me was that I got the impression that you were defending views that are far less charitable than yours, while at the same time attacking my views If that was not your intent, and I now believe it wasn't, please accept my apology.
I would add that there indeed are many people whose political learnings are similar to yours (conservative) who are advocating for positions far less charitable than those you have advocated and seem to me to be motivated by anti-Hispanic bias. I am very sensitive to that-perhaps too much so, which could lead me to make errors in judgment about the motives of others. I live in Houston, TX and I work as a substitute teacher in a school system with a student population that is about 70% Hispanic. No doubt, some of them-perhaps many of them-have parents who entered illegally. I love them just as much as I do the African American students or those students whose skin is as pale as mine. I find the idea that some would seek to send them and their families back to Mexico, or Honduras, or the Dominican Republic, or wherever to be repugnant. Also, I've lived in communities in Florida and North Carolina where I had a great deal of contact with Hispanics, some of whom are here illegally. Most of them are very hard working, honest people contribute far more to society than they ask in return.
I would encourage those who want to see the border secured make very judicious use of their language so that it is clear that their concerns have nothing to do with racism, but with concern for obedience to the law and to make sure that we are tending to the needs of our own people as we also seek ways in which we might contribute to the improvement of the lives of all people everywhere. We should direct our frustrations to our political leaders (in a respectful manner), who perhaps are neglecting their duties with respect to the immigration question.
Lastly, for the third time I do apologize for any offense I've given in any of my posts on this thread, and I ask that you not accuse me any more of being insincere. I am not insincere and I never was-otherwise, I never would have offered the apology to begin with. I don't think you are able to read my mind or look into my heart-so please, don't accuse me of being insincere.
Sincerely,
Ryan
