A week ago, two of my kids were taken away in a black car.

I have received a few photos — they look happy.  I had one brief phone call — they say they are having fun.

I don’t know if they are sleeping well, if they are eating well, or how much they miss home.

I miss them, but I have not spent a significant amount of time pondering those questions.  With a toddler at home and my regular work schedule, I’ve had a busy week.

A Luxury

I have not had to worry much about them, because I know their grandparents are taking good care of them.

They’ve been looking forward to this one-week separation for weeks (Rogue Two, age 4, has been looking forward to it for months).

With three young children and two working parents, even when we try to slow down, our life feels “busy” — it’s a cliché, except it’s true.

Having grandparents who are willing and able to watch 1-3 young boys at a time is a blessing.  Not having to worry about how they are doing while away from us is amazing.

I don’t worry about their safety.  Even if they are starting to feel a little homesick, they know and I know they will be home soon.

Kids In Cages

By now, just about everyone has heard and formed opinions about the recent immigration policies of our government.  If you haven’t — here’s a quick primer discussing the policy of separating children from parents when families seek to cross the border from Mexico.

The current administration recently adopted  a “zero tolerance” policy — immediately detaining all, arresting the parents, then using that as a legal excuse to separate children from the parents.

Kids are being put into what some have called “internment camps” — at first it sounds like an exaggeration.  Then you hear people who were in internment camps say our government’s policies forced separation policies are worse than what they experienced.  I think it’s worth separating this out from concentration camps.  

While I certainly harbor deep concern about the hatred that is openly brewing in this country, we have yet to slip into the true awfulness that was the massacre of millions of innocents.  This doesn’t condone or excuse the recent government actions.  It does provide context, as well as a glimpse of the slippery slope that civilization often falls down.

No, it’s not quite the same as Nazi Germany.  But if we are reduced to trumpeting the fact that children are being warehoused without their parents in a for-profit, re-purposed Wal-Mart, and not being massacred, it’s clear we have some soul-searching to do.

Reunited

Later today we’ll all be back in the same house, albeit ever so briefly (as I work night shifts this weekend).  The house will not only be full, it will feel full.  With just one kid at home, who goes to bed at 7pm, it feels like having no kids at all.

While I’m not looking forward to the mayhem, I am looking forward to being reunited.  It’s knowing the kids are doing well and that this day is coming that has helped me not fret every moment of their absence.

Were I being forcibly separated without a timeline for their return, or even worse, shipped to another country (even if my home country) and my child separated, there would be no enjoyment.

It would not be relaxing, it would not feel like a vacation.  I would be spending every waking moment trying to be reunited with my children.

I do think the country is falling down a slippery slope when news commentators say things like this:

“Like it or not, these aren’t our kids.  Show them compassion, but it’s not like he’s doing this to the people of Idaho or Texas. These are people from another country and now people are saying that they’re more important than people in our country who are paying taxes and who have needs as well.”

This of course came from Fox News.

The number of moral, ethical, and logical flaws in this statement are too numerous to count in a simple blog post.  But this kind of crap is being broadcast on mainstream, popular news shows, not buried in some dark corner of Reddit.

He’s echoing what millions of Americans believe — people’s lives are worth less than ours because of boundaries on a map.  We’re not talking about good ol’ Soviet-era Cold War rivalry or hating in Nazis  We’re talking about simply not giving a sh*t about someone else’s plight because they don’t live in this country.

As much as this country has to heal itself and help itself, this country was literally founded in large part by immigrants seeking a better life.

The White House finally received enough backlash that they’ve sort of reversed policy, and now will try to detain families together, though possibly indefinitely.

I can’t fix stupid, and I have no desire to engage in online dialogue about it (just write about it here), but I did make a donation to two different organizations today.

The first was to Raices, a charity in Texas helping refugees and immigrants.  The second was to my local foodbank.

Why these two together?  Because it’s possible to help a person far away without turning your back on someone close to home.