Texas and Florida: The New Sodom

What’s that?

Those are two of the Reddest Red States!
Aren’t they filled with all of those conservative christian types?
How can you say that they are the New Sodom?

I’m glad you asked those questions.

First, Yes! Yes, those states boast a large percentage of the population who are christian.
They believe the Bible and claim to read it and live their lives accordingly.
I’m sure that if anyone from one of those “righteous” states reads this they will begin to
gnash their teeth and say, “How dare that liberal commie punk say that about us!”

Ok, whatevs.

I have a pretty strong case, though. In recent days there have been a couple of things happen that may or may not find air time on your favorite news channel. (I’ve found that the media, main stream or other, don’t report on these types of stories very often. I sometimes wonder why. Then, I remember, “Oh, yeah, $$$$.)

Immigration to the U.S. has historically been a problem. From banning Chinese immigrants in the 19th century to not welcoming Catholics and Irish and Italians and whoever the group du jour happens to be.. Americans, a nation of immigrants, has issues with allowing immigrants.

I get the concerns. Will there be adequate housing, jobs, schools, etc. to support any influx of people from other countries. And, while I think many, if not most, of those concerns are over-blown, there is reason for them. After all, when guests come to call the host needs to think about how to care for them.

I get it.

And, I agree that the Federal govt. really needs to pull their collective heads out of their asses and address this issue. It will not simply go away if it is ignored.
That’s why we elect those folks.

However, what two governors have done is not helpful. In fact, it is criminal. (Or, should be.)

In order to score political points Greg Abbott has been loading illegal immigrants into buses and sending them north to New York, Chicago, and D.C. He claims that it is to highlight the border problem in his state.
There is a problem there. I don’t think that anyone would deny that. People streaming across the border without any structure in place to adequately accommodate them is a big problem.
The strain on state and local governments is real. The local economies are not designed to handle the sometimes staggering number of people crossing. Federal, State, and Local law enforcement are overworked and simply not trained to handle all of the issues they are confronted with.

BUT…

Treating human beings, children, women, and men like pawns on a chess board in order to score political points is simply wrong. These are folks trying to escape crushing poverty and civil unrest. They are literally running for their lives. Gov. Abbott should be ashamed of how he is treating these people!

Florida Gov. Ron “Vecna” DeSantis is following Abbott’s lead. He recently sent two planes filled with immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard. (See NYT article here.) He did not give the folks there a heads up. He simple used taxpayer funds to fly people out of his state.
Fortunately, the good people of Martha’s Vineyard ramped up quickly to help. They welcomed the immigrants and began helping them get the support that they needed. They fed them and in one case gave someone a pair of shoes because he had none. It seems that those people understand the words that Emma Lazarus wrote that are etched on the Statue of Liberty:

“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-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

From Emma Lazarus’ “The New Colossus”

I don’t fault Local and State governments their frustration. Immigration is an issue that needs to be addressed.
But, treating people who are hungry, lost, and afraid like this is truly a sin that must be reckoned.
As the prophet Ezekiel wrote to the leaders of Jerusalem:

“As I live,” says the Lord, “your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. This is the iniquity of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefor I removed them when I saw it.”

Eze. 16:48-50

As near as I can tell from this, both Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis are sodomites.