Why I Wasn’t Outraged At Obama’s Travel Ban In 2011

Last updated on: January 30, 2017 at 8:03 pm by Matthew Tyson

Why I Wasn’t Outraged At Obama’s Travel Ban In 2011 2017-01-30T20:03:50-05:00 Matthew Tyson

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This seems to be the popular rebuttal to those of us who are angered (and rightfully so, in my opinion) at Trump’s “temporary” travel ban. Now, ignoring the fact that this argument is big pile tu quote diaper stuffing, I’d like to go ahead and state my reasoning. Especially since I won’t be backing off my opposition to Trump any time soon.

The reason I didn’t raise a fuss in 2011 is because I was neither Catholic nor politically involved. At the time I was floating through life as a lapsed Baptist/Diest who was more concerned with graduating college, getting married, and scrounging up enough couch change for a pack of Pall Malls than I was with whatever the president was doing. I was also suffering through one of the most difficult times in my life, but that’s neither here nor there.

Simply put, I wasn’t paying much attention. But I am now.

Now, after further research, it seems that there are some pretty significant differences between what Obama did in 2011 and what Trump is doing now, and I’ll let the Washington Post give you the particulars.

But the only thing that matters is what I believe now. And that is, as a Catholic, Pro-Life, Left Wing loud mouth, I don’t care who is sitting behind the desk in the oval office. America is the richest, most powerful country in the world. If someone comes to our borders seeking refuge, a new start, and a better life, we don’t turn them away. We let them in. Because that’s what America is about.

We can screen. We can vet. We can exhaust every effort to make sure that the people coming to our country are coming without ill will. That’s fine with me. But we don’t close the door. And we don’t turn our backs.

And even if you strip away every American value I was raised to believe in, you still can’t escape the fact that Jesus Christ—my Lord, my Savior, and the central figure of my entire religion—was really, really clear about this.

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.*

He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.

Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you? And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’*

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’

Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Matthew 25:31-46

I don’t care what Obama did. I don’t care what Bush did. I don’t care. What matters right now is that Donald Trump’s actions are irreconcilable with my faith and the values I thought my country was based on. And I’m going to resist.

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