We'll take them...all of them

Read this article: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14997834/?GT1=8506

First of all, let me say that this is a great story. 300 abandoned pets from the Beirut war are being air-lifted to America to find new homes. It is just the kind of thing I would support and gives me hope that the basic good in all people will shine through…eventually. This effort provides evidence that there IS something that connects us all…even if it is furry, has four legs and fleas. I love animals…all of them. I’d take in every last mutty dog and stray cat if I could (and everyone who knows me knows I will probably TRY). I’m all for saving the whales, the owls, the beetles and the manatees…and who ever else needs saving from our thoughtless plunder of nature. I think we have a moral and ethical obligation to take care of the animals on this planet -- especially those we have domesticated as pets and taught to be dependent on humans for food and affection.

But unfortunately this isn’t about the animals. It is about our continuance as Americans to take care of the rest of the world’s problems and tragedies, while people in many of those same regions rage hateful wars against us. This story is a perfect metaphor. There are hundreds and thousands of homeless and unwanted pets euthanized in America every year. Thousands of rescue organizations work tirelessly at the heart-breaking and never-ending job of caring for, placing, and often having to destroy these animals we have so carelessly let come in to a world with no plan to provide care for them. Yet here we are, opening our arms and hearts again to those in need – and they aren’t even ours. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." …your lost and abandoned little lives…we don’t care, we’ll take care of them because that is what we DO here in America. Maybe it is because we have seen too many Disney movies; after all, in many countries (see exhibit A, China, where recently thousands and thousands of dogs/pets were beaten to death in the streets to prevent a POSSIBLE rabies outbreak) no one would take a moment to think of saving these animals. They would be efficiently put to death and disposed of. When the socioeconomic circumstances of a country make it necessary to decide between caring for a human or caring for a dog, the question be comes less difficult to answer. But for the most part, we have been blessed and don’t have to make that choice in America. So here we are taking in Lebanese animals because we believe in the value of a life – any life – and we will use our recourses with out giving a second thought to it; faithfully filling a need in the hopes of saving a life.

Have we not done essentially the same thing in every corner of the world throughout our history as a nation? When there is a natural disaster, a war, a crisis of any kind and people need help, Americans are always there. It matters not to us that the people of the affected country are poor, that the land has few resources, or what skin color and religion happens to be prominent there. We will help. People can criticize our government, our collective gluttony and our past errors all they want, but when their country has a tsunami that kills 200 thousand people, we’ll still be there. Yes, there are people in America – often in the public eye – who make bad decisions and are very wrong. We know this and see they do not represent the majority of us. However, good or bad, it is part of life in America. What I don’t think the people who hate us understand is that 99% of the people living in America are not like that. Their hatred is misplaced and innocent people are suffering for their lack of vision. It is not wars and bombs that will kill this world; it is abhorrent generalizations, a complete lack of grace and a pervasive unwillingness to be open to the fact that we are all ONE. We ALL need to be reminded of this fact.

The U.S. government is not perfect. No government is perfect. No one person or leader is always going to make the “right” decision – it is simply not possible. However, in America, we have the freedom to choose our leader, and I think, can basically trust that the people in our government are, for the most part, people who are trying to make the best decisions they can with what information is available to them at the time. So no one in government has an agenda or can be influenced my money? Hardly. But I still have to believe, that this is the best thing going.

There are many in the U.S. rumbling about protecting ourselves from our enemies, closing our borders and cutting off aid to foreign nations…essentially sealing ourselves up in a bubble. To do these things would suffocate the very thing that makes America…well, America. Our openness to other cultures, our desire to help those in need, and our willingness to know this world and to be part of it are some of the essential concepts at the heart of this country. If we, for example, “protect ourselves” from terrorism by banning all individuals of middle-eastern decent from all flights (ignore, for a moment, the fact that this is absurd and not feasible in any sort of way) we cease to be what we claim to be at our core, kill an essential truth of this country, and abandon our rich heritage -- all in the name of “protection”. Political junkies on the extreme ends of the Right/Left spectrum will say what they may, but the millions of Americans walking the streets, going to work and taking care of their families on a daily basis will NOT let this happen. We will not give up on the dream of freedom from oppression that brought the founders of this country across the ocean; we will not give in to hatred and fear and live in distrust of the world around us; we will not let our compassion for others dry up; we will NOT give up on what it means to be American.

When your country has a need, don’t worry, we’ll be there; no matter how many times a few extremists -- who we know do not represent you or the majority your countrymen -- kill our civilians and soldiers. We know that, like us, the people living around the world – those who get up everyday, eat, work, and live – are the majority and do not want to be represented by a small but hateful faction. How can we still maintain this perspective and understanding after all that has happened? It’s called grace and our country was founded on it. While we sometimes forget it, step on it, misuse it and neglect it, grace remains life-current that runs through all we do.

So bring on the homeless dogs from Beirut. We’ll take them…all of them. And we’ll do the best we can to heal, feed and provide for them because that is what we do here.