From the Desert: BORDERS

A reflection on nationhood and environmentalism as a New Monastic in Appalachia from Stefon Napier

In the last couple of years, there has been an increase in rhetoric regarding illegal immigration and concerns over its impact on national security. If we are being honest, the concern has little to do with national security and more with the irrational fear that the American conscious or identity is being diluted. Proponents of harsher punishments for illegal immigrants and an increased presence of law enforcement at the border often contend that illegal immigrants take jobs from American citizens and that they are more prone to violent crimes. Such claims are obviously false but they do provide insight into how America views others, particularly when one considers its status as a self proclaimed Christian nation.

For a Christian nation, we have an unusual fixation with our borders. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to maintain a safe border in the interests of national security, if we utilize it as a means of shutting out those we deem as undesirable, we fall short of the call to love our neighbors. In loving others there will always be risks as love itself is a risky thing. Must we vet everyone before we begin to serve them? Does not the call to love even our enemies supersede this in any regard? I do not mean suggest that we should not be shrewd in our dealings with people but that we have to try and approach each of them with an open heart.

It is important to consider that borders do not come from God; they are man-made constructs. They are nothing less than the result of humanities struggle to get along. In short, borders are the direct result of our seemingly inability to love one another. If we acknowledge then that borders are the result of our own sinful nature then perhaps we might not cling to them so tightly.

I find it interesting, given our preoccupation with with safe borders, that we often do not take the same stance when it comes to our enroachment upon the natural environment. Even as I write this, steps are being taken to remove protections on our national forests and wilderness areas. We are breaking with Eden all over again. How is it that our responsibility to be good stewards of the earth is superseded by the enforcement of man-made borders?

I think that borders are reflective of humanities overall spiritual condition. The same walls that we throw up on our own hearts are made manifest in how we view the people around us. In this regard, the American consciousness needs be healed. It needs to be unmade.

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New Monastic and contemplative. A brush of Anglican Expression. What I'm currently doing: Working on becoming a Spiritual Director| Developing Wilderness Retreats

This article is written by Network Writer Stefon Napier, and is crossposted from his personal blog on substack! To learn more about Stefon visit his team page at https://www.kfmbroadcasting.com/team/napier-s. You can find his full library of writings on his Substack at https://stefonnapier.substack.com/