This infernal wall which got Trump elected–and that Mexico was supposed to pay for–is going to be paid for by each and every American taxpayer and is going to add another $20,000,000,000 to the national debt. I object to having my tax dollars contribute to this wretched mistake. There are far better ways to invest in our future. We could double federal aid to public schools; we could ensure that no veteran is ever denied health care; we could repair our aging infrastructure; we could resettle refugee families; we could fund the arts; we could offer college scholarships to disadvantaged students….the list goes on and on. An old axiom reminds us “if you are more fortunate than others, it is better to build a longer table than a taller fence.” If we are going to spend this colossal amount of money, let’s spend it in a way that celebrates the spirit of the American and human communities, not on something that destroys it.
Further, if we Christians could stop being partisan for five seconds, we should consider what the guy–who told us to sell all we have and give it to the poor before we could follow Him–would say about our $20,000,000,000 wall. (Spoiler Alert: He said “when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”)
Instead of building this wall, let’s learn from the past: the Chinese, conservatively, spent 13 billion on their ancient wall as well as the lives of 400,000 workers. And guess what? It didn’t work. The Mongols invaded anyway. I, for one, would rather toss the money into the Atlantic Ocean than build this ruinous, xenophobic, jingoistic, ugly, and, most of all, ineffective wall. It will be blight on our beautiful American landscape, offensive to the world, and a monument to the very worst in human nature.
Invest the money in our future instead, or better still, don’t spend it at all; our great, great grandchildren–to whom we are handing the bill for this folly–will thank us. Tell your member of Congress to just say no, to this wall.
conTIMplations 