Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free

Today's post is going to be a commentary about what has been happening in the world over the past week.  Let me start by saying that what happened in Paris was horrendous.  A senseless act carried out by radical Muslim extremists, most of whom were French citizens.

The outpouring of support for the citizens of France has been overwhelming.  We are a global community so when something like this happens to our French friends, it affects us too.  It has been touching to see how people on Facebook have responded.

At the same time, however, something else has happened on Facebook. Radical, extreme messages of hatred towards all Muslims.  And what's even more disturbing is that these messages of hatred are quite often followed by posts about what great Christians these people are.

I'm sorry, but what is going on in America?  Are we not a country of immigrants who came here to escape some kind of persecution?  What has happened to the humanity of the situation?

I've lost a lot of sleep this week.  These posts have disturbed me greatly.  How can people be so hateful?  I realize most of it is ignorance, a belief that all 1.6 billion Muslims are killers.  These people have probably never picked up a Koran to see what the religion is all about.  Most have probably never met a Muslim.  People fear what they don't know.

My first thought was to close my Facebook account and stay off of social media so I didn't have to see these messages, but the majority of my "friends" on Facebook aren't extremists so that's not fair to me or them.  I have the option of unfriending or unfollowing these people.  Unfortunately, for my own well-being I'm going to have to shorten my friend list.  I just ask that people take a minute to think about the message they are sending before posting or sharing something on Facebook that might be offensive. 

The God I know is kind, caring, and loving and would never condone the hatred we are witnessing.

My God is grieving over this little Syrian boy whose family was just trying to find a better life.  I grieve with Him.  They are not our enemies, they are our fellow humans.  I'm so grateful to live in a state that has a governor who doesn't jump to snap decisions about accepting refugees.  If I lived in a neighborhood I would welcome these refugees with open arms.  I would do everything I could to help them settle into a new and different country.  I would show them my loving God by my deeds and actions.

I'm so fortunate to have daughters who are empathetic and share my views on this subject.  As Jillian so eloquently reminded us in a post on Facebook yesterday, the quote on the Statue of Liberty does not say send us only white Christians who are looking for a better way of life, it says:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"