I rarely get into politics on this blog, but I will about the events of yesterday.
President Trump signed an executive order this past week titled "Protection Of The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States." The order indefinitely suspends admissions for Syrian refugees and limits the flow of other refugees into the United States by instituting what the President has called "extreme vetting" of immigrants. (From this article by CNN.)
I think this thing is dreadful. It involves border guards administering "religious tests." On a wide scale it will lead to suffering, injustice, and death. It's already caused a shit storm of trouble. Last night, there was a massive protest at JFK airport.
I was one of the 80,000 people watching the protest over the internet, and I breathed a sigh of relief when the crowd chanted about an emergency hearing to be held in a Brooklyn, NY court house at 7:30 that night.
The hearing resulted in a temporary stay of the deportations. The key word here is temporary. This is a band-aid not a solution.
But it gives me some hope.
There's a verse in the Tao te Ching that speaks to this:
74
If you realize that all things change,
there is nothing you will try to hold on to.
If you aren't afraid of dying,
there is nothing you can't achieve.
Trying to control the future
is like trying to take the master carpenter's place.
When you handle the master carpenter's tools,
chances are that you'll cut your hand.
What I take from that verse is that there's no permanence. Things DO change. And while we CAN push them in a certain direction, it often comes with pain and suffering.
Yes, this is awful.
Yes, there is work to do.
But no, this isn't a forgone conclusion. It's not a done deal. There is no such thing. No starting. No stopping. Only doing.
So grateful for that.