Middle of Everywhere - Mary Bray Pipher [145]
I don't like our isolationism and "America first" tendencies. We Americans are taking more than our fair share of the world's resources. To use Carol Bly's term, we are "lucky predators." We do not deserve more than other people. I would like to see a fairer distribution system and more aid going whenever and wherever there is great suffering. To quote David Brower, "The world is burning up and sometimes all I hear is the sound of violins."
The INS is a mess, underfunded and burdened with red tape. And we criminalize the victims of our inefficient system. We have factories and businesses that use up people and toss them away. We have too many laws that favor the rich and the propertied and not enough laws to protect the poor. We make it very difficult to call OSHA and report health hazards at a factory. Our town has its share of sleazy landlords and salespeople.
But many of us are better than our institutions. I have seen the kindness of ordinary Nebraskans to the newcomers. Attorneys and doctors work for free. Churches sponsor families. My friends have delivered piles of supplies and clothes to my doorstep to help the families I know. One friend, not very wealthy herself, told me, "Call me if you ever need money for a refugee family." Another said, "I have too much stuff and will give it to anyone you suggest." A local businesswoman risked her life to take in a Laotian woman being stalked by an ex-boyfriend. When Joseph first went to work, his supervisor greeted him warmly, saying, "Welcome. We are happy you are here."
Even though I am critical of our government in many ways, I also realize how lucky we are to live in the United States. I bristle when I hear people criticize all government as bad. I have met many people who lived in places where there was virtually no government. We don't want to live in those places.
I have great respect for our constitution, our schools, and many of our institutions. But love means wanting to make things better. People can be greedy and imperfect; institutions have important roles to play in keeping us civilized. Having heard stories of governments crumbling and of lives changing overnight, I am more aware of the fragility of governments, even ours.
WHAT IF WE COULD?
The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you don't listen to it, you won't know what justice is.
—HOWARD ZINN
Refugees are vulnerable people and like all vulnerable people they are exploited. They will work the worst jobs for the lowest wages, live in the lousiest houses and drive the crummiest cars, for which they are overcharged. Just because we can exploit newcomers doesn't mean we should. As Albert Camus wrote, "It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners."
The Portes and Rumbaut research makes it clear that for newcomers the first few years in America are a critical period. They have an initial optimism and energy that enables them to work hard and in some cases achieve enormous gains. They will either move into the middle class in a generation or two or they will languish at the bottom of our socioeconomic hierarchy.
We are making it difficult for our newcomers to climb out of entry-level jobs in America. Today there is no longer really a ladder into the middle class. Of course, a few amazing people will always be able to make it, but there are too many barriers for the average refugee. We are leaving too many people behind.
Unless we once again develop that ladder, we will have a permanent underclass of disaffected, resentful people. We need a livable wage, housing subsidies, and more access to education and job training. We need stronger unions and better regulations to protect our most vulnerable workers. The INS needs to be reformed. Its procedures need to be fester, kinder, and more comprehensible.
Helping our newcomers with living wages, decent housing, education, and health care will be expensive and require commitment and compassion. These tasks will be hard, but we Americans have done hard things before. We underestimate each other's