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Artwork: Reunion-Mujer Sentada by David Alfado Siqueiros

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My life was and is a clash of worlds. When I was younger, it was a normal week to have roast beef and carrots at Grandma’s trailer, rice and beans in our apartment, buttered bread dipped in coffee (at the age of 7) on a plastic-covered table at my abuela’s house, and curry with roti on the bright blue kid’s table at my godparents’ house. About this I have zero complaints.

Being as hungry for understanding the world then as I am now, you can imagine I heard quite the range of philosophies while eavesdropping on adult conversations. The origin stories of the people I loved displayed a vast range of mindsets, pursuits, beliefs, and outcomes. Piecing together their stories helped me to make sense of them, the world, and myself. One question that gnawed at me was: why was life so difficult for some and much freer for others?

In the book Generous Justice, Tim Keller patiently introduces a much-needed shock to our meritocratic system by leveling the imagined superiority that often blinds us. In the book, Keller explains how the foundation of our lives has not been earned by us based on simple factors: we do not earn the parents who conceive us, the city/province or country in which we are born, nor the financial situation of our upbringing. Although he certainly was not the first to have this idea, it was the first time I had heard it stated so clearly.

Upon reading it, I felt a sense of relief I did not know I needed. A new world opened up for me, allowing me to channel the energy I traditionally reserve for judging others into the energy needed to be generous with my unearned resources.

When looking closely, it is easy to find that two people can be equally diligent, hardworking, and resilient but end up in drastically different circumstances. Sometimes, even the hardest workers end up with the lowest return.

Yes, there is an element of life to which reaping what we sow applies, but this framework quickly crumbles when we consider the abused child. Have they sown the violence their life reaps? Certainly not. Consider your own life with its beauty and suffering, and it will be easy to find that at least some of your security, wealth, and health— or lack thereof— may be equally unearned.

Before I press into how my heart is deeply grieved by us missing each other, let me speak to realities that you, reader, may be facing. Friend, you did not earn your spouse cheating on you. Daughter, you did not earn being unconditionally loved by your parents. Do you see the far reaches of this reality? For those of us “on top” let this humble us. For those of us “on the bottom” let this keep us from self-loathing.

As a culture, we have inherited and cultivated the belief that every man and woman has the opportunity, and even the mandate, to lift themselves up by their own bootstraps. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. poignantly stated, “It is a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself up by his own bootstraps.”

My invitation is for us to consider the reality of our largely unearned status in this world. Do we believe the woman cleaning up after the mess of humanity in our hotels is not hard-working? What about the men and women picking our fruits and vegetables? The construction worker paving our roads? The cooks at our restaurants? If it feels like I’m highlighting a particular group of people, it’s because I am.

As I write this, ICE is invading the town where I live. A witness who works in a facility that is occupied by their crews, unmarked cars, and buses is haunted by the ringing of migrants’ confiscated phones—family members frantically looking for them. Many have been arrested while working—while working for us.

The truth is, as with most Americans, I did not earn my citizenship. I was born with it. I have loved ones who have earned their citizenship, but they will tell you it takes much money, support, and what seems to be chance working in one’s favor.

I struggle to understand some members of a “lift yourself up by your own bootstraps” nation degrading men and women who do that very thing— braving impossible conditions in order to get to a country where they can work to feed their families. I can sympathize with those who want people to earn their citizenship through legal means. Yes, that is the ideal and even preferred by most immigrants. The reality is that is an opportunity most are not afforded. For those unaware of the process, I encourage you to get to know people from other countries so that you can understand just how precarious it can be.

Since ICE has been on the move, I have felt helpless knowing what is happening to my neighbors across the country. A week ago, this reality started affecting my neighbors on the roads I take driving my kids to school. I have friends whose family members are in “Alligator Alcatraz”. Local non-profit workers are sharing that parents are not going to the grocery store for fear of being lost forever to their families with no rights to protect them from abuses of power. Teachers are heartbroken over the fear that keeps their students awake at night as they pray God protects them from their home being broken into by armed and unaccountable men.

It feels meager and woefully powerless, but maybe the most I can do today is appeal to our shared unworthiness of the lives bestowed on us and ask us to let that inform our love for each other, our view of ourselves, and the use of our resources for the sake of others.

Extras

Field Trip Idea

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