CONGRESSMAN JOHN McCAIN is saying that illegal immigrants are to blame for the Arizona fires that are ravaging the state right now. Apparently he has "substantial evidence" of which no one else in authority seems to be aware -- and which he is not sharing with anyone else.
Undocumented immigrants do cross the desert in southern Arizona and at times they do start fires. But so far no one else has been able to tie the current fires to illegal immigrants. ~ LA Times
ISTM that when we start blaming one group for every problem that comes along (which we are close to doing in Arizona) we have displacement or scapegoating. At the risk of playing the over-played Hitler card, it could again be pointed out that Hitler came to power because he figured out that people responded positively when he blamed all of Germany's woes on the Jews and their friends.
In the 1950's the communists were supposedly behind every social problem.
In the American colonies of the 17th century witches became the scapegoats.
When the Visigoths sacked Rome in 410 the blame was placed on Christians because they had abandoned traditional Roman religion and led the empire to follow. That view was so widely adopted that St Augustine wrote the City of God in an attempt to to rebuff the arguments.
Further back, Nero blamed the Christians for the burning of Rome in AD 64.
It's all the same story -- repeating itself over and over again. We can easily become them -- if we aren't already.
No comments:
Post a Comment