Latin Catholic by birth, Byzantine Catholic by the grace of God.
Pro: Restoration of the Holy and Universal Christian Roman Empire.
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Location: Upstate, New York, United States

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Migration motivation

Say a man, after buying lunch at the local pizzeria, has ten bucks left over. As is typical of these places, there's a tip jar, a college fund jar for the owner's daughter, a jar for the local soup kitchen or food bank, and the area's animal shelter might even be selling mints for a donation.

Our generous fellow decides that in the spirit of Lent he'll deposit money in all four. If he divvies it up and gives $2.50 to each, is he giving wisely? What should be his priority?

  • the soup kitchen, then
  • the animal shelter, then
  • the tip jar, then
  • the college fund.

The reasoning here is that poor humans are more important than poor animals, suffering animals are of a greater priority than a small gratuity for service, and tipping liberally is more important than a college fund for a presumably able-bodied young person (who probably has a good work ethic by virtue of being the child of a small business owner).

Thus, if we are to consider immigration policy an issue of charity (although national security and integrity are more fundamental, let's leave them be for now), to whom are our limited resources better directed?

Let's use the number 10 just to match our previous example. If we have economic and cultural room for 10 immigrants, whom do we take? South American poor? Chinese free speech advocates? Or Arabs and others suffering for Christ?

The answer should be self-evident. He in mortal danger because of God deserves our top priority, then the fellow who may be shipped off to a work camp for political reasons, then he who suffers bodily because of an indifferent and corrupt home nation.

So, if we are to take charity cases within our borders, we start with those whose problems come from man's highest nature, spirit, to his next highest, rational or intellectual, to his lowest, physical.

We may also take note that typically, the higher the nature that is oppressed, the greater the penalty from the offending state. Christian converts under Mohammed's thumb are usually killed, political dissenters may be killed but just as likely jailed or put to hard labor, and the poor will live in squalor ... but with their loved ones, and their heads still attached.

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