Immigration is, and always will be, an important issue in the United States. But when addressing this issue, there needs to be more acceptance and understanding—compassion, if you will.

With increased border patrols and security and the recent Arizona immigration law, the discussion around immigration is turing more negative. Politicians and ordinary citizens are blaming immigration as  the reason for lost jobs and government debt.  Americans are increasingly supporting reduced immigration and tighter restrictions to curb the influx of immigrants, which isn’t how we should be thinking.

Its official. The French senate has voted with an overwhelming majority to pass the new law that bans an individual from wearing the Islamic full veil in public. Women that wear the veil and men that force a woman to wear the veil are subject to a fine. The law hopes to promote gender equality, women’s dignity, security and French cultural values. Now, all of those things are fine and dandy; I believe that measures should be taken to make modern society more egalitarian.  However, I can’t shake the feeling that this law not only infringes upon individuals’ rights but also is uncompassionate.

9/11 was a historic human tragedy, but we extend the tragedy by using it as an excuse for ongoing anger.  The stories of the Quran-burning threat from Florida and the pressure to move an Islamic center away from Ground Zero spread around the world like fire this past week. No doubt they will continue for at least a few more days. Or they might start World War III.

 If you have been looking for a way to help in the Pakistani flood relief, the following letter from Elias Amidon, a friend of a friend, suggests how to do it. Check out more about Elias Amidon on the website: http://pathofthefriend.org/ He and his wife spend most of their time learning and helping in the middle east. Here is a letter from Elias Amidon on  August 22, 2010:

I just got back home from a family reunion. Each year, my boyfriend’s mother’s side of the family reunites in central Wisconsin for a weekend of laughter, prayer, and companionship. But unlike my own maternal family reunion, which would consist of about 12 people, they squeeze around 70 people into one location. If you’ve ever seen the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you will have some sort of picture of what the annual event is like. There is a lot of activity, from sports and games to music and dance, and always plenty of hugging.

China's Premier Wen Jiabao, unlike other aloof Chinese leaders, shows up at national disaster sites to comfort the people. In this, and in other ways, he relates to the people at all levels, showing the compassionate side of the Chinese dictatorship.
The BBC New today ran a story about the controversy over the book written about Premier Wen Jisbao. Premier Wen Jiabao was described as "compassionate."

"The worst disaster ever seen," said the UN Secretary General today, and he has seen many huge disasters around the world: the Haiti earthquake, Katrina, and the big SE Asia tsunami.

Over 15 million are already estimated affected, and it is still raining. Already reports include deaths from starvation and estimates of huge numbers ill from unsanitary water.  Three weeks have gone by and the American media seem to give more time to discussing the political and military implications than the humanitarian need. Reports of both public and private aid seem meager, especially in comparison to Haiti and Katrina.

Yesterday I visited my great-grandfather in the assisted living home where he moved nine months ago. He’s 95, and was living on his own, despite macular degeneration and hearing loss, until he was in a car accident last summer. Now, even though he has recovered from his injuries sustained in the accident, life has gotten exponentially more difficult and his quality of life has dropped enormously. Just the act of getting from his wheelchair to a lying down position on his bed drains him almost entirely of energy; his mind is as sharp as ever though, he’s always telling us stories. But life has essentially become a waiting room. Before we left yesterday, after we said goodbye, he broke down, deploring why God was penalizing him making him live like this. He just wanted to go home and see his wife—she passed away five years ago. They were married for over 70 years.  Seeing him like that breaks my heart. 

In 2008 there were 441,855 robberies reported in the United States. I was one of that number.