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When asked which commandment is the greatest of all, Jesus boiled all of the law down to two great commandments: “Love the Lord thy God” and “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Jesus did not only offer this command, he lived it. He offered grace to a shunned Samaritan, he washed the feet of sinners, he did not fear the lepers.
But the platform of the GOP has abandoned this principle in favor of fear, hoping to drive Christians to the ballot box by making them scared of their neighbors.
Look no further than the recent comments made by an unidentified man at a meeting in Albertville Tuesday at a meeting of concerned citizens.
“I’ve been to Haiti… I’m not trying to be ugly but it’s got a smell to it,” the man said. “These people have smells to them. And I’ll tell you, these people are not like us. They don’t assimilate. They’re not here to assimilate. … [T]hese people are kind of scary.”
The message of fear has set in, despite numerous studies showing that immigrants don’t commit crimes at a higher rate than any other population.
Politicians and certain far-right media outlets have highlighted specific instances to stoke fears. A recent drunk-driving incident involving an illegal immigrant that killed a longtime Albertville resident has been cited as an example of the dangers posed by immigrants. But a 2017 study shows that there is no correlation between undocumented immigrants and DUI deaths.
Three undocumented immigrants were also busted in a sting by Chris Hansen in Blount County recently, with the host later telling Fox News that “they don’t respect this country.” This message was amplified in state news with an implicit extrapolation to the immigrant population at large.
Last week as some citizens in Albertville grew concerned that immigrants were being bused into Albertville (the buses were actually picking up and dropping off workers from Pilgrim’s Pride in Russellville) State Rep. Brock Colvin, R-Albertville, pondered how many immigrants among the Albertville citizens have “slipped through” from Haiti’s “literal cannibal gangs.”
That fear has become palpable, especially in Albertville. The leaders of Tuesday’s meeting said they held the talk to try to bring down the anger they were seeing.
Mt. Calvary Baptist Church senior pastor David McMillen opened the meeting by recounting the story of the good Samaritan. Notably, the Jews and Samaritans shared not just one, but two borders and a lot of animosity. So much so that Jesus simply speaking to a Samaritan woman at a well was shocking.
The story of the good Samaritan is often told without the context, in which a lawyer asked Jesus to clarify “Who is my neighbor?”
After telling the story, Jesus asks the lawyer: “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
Immigration, legal or illegal, poses challenges for our communities. Language barriers create difficulties, and English learners strain limited school resources. Some immigrants, like some other citizens, are involved in drugs and other criminal activity.
But we can’t continue to be led down this road to fear our neighbors when our calling is to love them and lead them.
