The Good American

One of my all time favorite movies is Under the Same Moon, or La Misma Luna in it's original Spanish.  The story follows Carlos, a young boy in Mexico who is waiting for his mom, who is in Los Angeles, to make enough money to bring him to the United States.  Carlos eventually tries to find his own way into the States.  After many hardships, he is finally reunited with his mother.

This movie came out in 2008.  The trials Carlos faced on his journey to find his mother are nothing like the trials families are facing today on the Texas-Mexico border.  Parents and children are arriving at the border together looking for a better life only to be forcefully separated and kept apart for who knows how long.  They are being kept in unsafe, unsanitary, and inhumane accommodations.

One of the main arguments I hear is that the parents should have thought of the consequences before they tried to illegally enter the United States.  This argument is valid.  But aren't the consequences a little extreme?  People are trying to join our great nation, to find freedom and peace.  Instead, we are giving them more terror and hardships.  Shouldn't we be willing to help them on their journey to citizenship?

Christ's parable of the Good Samaritan comes to mind.  The Levites and the Samaritans didn't get along at all.  When a Levite man was beaten and robbed, left to die on the side of the road, the only person that helped him was a Samaritan.  Two men walked right past their Levite brother, not willing to help.  The man who was supposed to be the enemy is the one who stopped to help.

Now, let's rewrite the story.  A Mexican family is struggling in their native country.  Their own government is doing nothing to assist them.  So the family flees to what is said to be the greatest country in all the world to find help, even though they know of the hatred that flows throughout this free nation to which they are escaping.

I'll stop the story there.  We already know how this story ends.  It ends without a Good Samaritan.  Let's change that.  Let's be the one they need to find peace in their lives.  Let's be the Good American.

As I Have Loved You...

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  As a member of this church, I was taught at a young age to love everyone and treat everyone equally.  This doesn't mean I have to agree with everyone.  I don't disagree out of hate; that would go against my beliefs.  I disagree because of my beliefs.  Allow me to explain.
One of the core beliefs in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that we lived in Heaven before we came to Earth.  We call this the Premortal Existence.  We lived as spirits in the Premortal Existence, and we were born of heavenly parents.  Our spirits had the same genders we were born with in this mortal world.  For example, even in the Premortal Existence, I was a male.
Another core belief is that families can be together forever.  We believe that marriage is between a man and woman and that, if they are able, they are obligated to have children so that those spirits waiting in the Premortal Existence can also have a chance to obtain a body.
These are a couple of the beliefs of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We as members are entitled to these beliefs.  We are not, however, entitled to being hateful and disrespectful to those who don't live our beliefs.  We are all free agents, free to make our own life choices. 
Something I found interesting was the fact that "only 40 percent of Mormons favor allowing same-sex couples to marry, yet nearly 7-in-10 (69 percent) support laws that would protect LGBT people from discrimination in housing, public accommodations, and employment" (Dallas, 2018).  Even though we don't agree with same-sex marriage, we are still willing to protect the rights of the members of the LGBTQ+ community.
My New Year's resolution for this year was to treat others the way Christ would treat them.  I strongly believe that Christ loves everyone, no matter how they choose to live their lives, even if it's not in accordance with what He taught.  Christ loves unconditionally.  I think we need less arguing and politics, and more unconditional love in this world.

Works Cited

Dallas, K. (2018). Mormons stand out from other faith groups for their views on LGBT rights. [online]    DeseretNews.com. Available at: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900017419/mormons-stand-out-from-other-faith-groups-for-their-views-on-lgbt-rights.html [Accessed 14 Jun. 2019].