Tag Archives: Immigration

Our Version of Plague Maddened Villagers

By Robin Bates | Published: February 7, 2017

Donald Trump’s attacks on the Affordable Care Act and on immigrants could well end up hurting many of his supporters. A similar irony is described in Geraldine Brooks’s “Year of Wonders,” where 17th century villagers, maddened by the plague, kill two midwives.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Affordable Care Act, Donald Trump, Geraldine Brooks, Muslim ban, Obamacare, Year of Wonders | Comments closed

Must Dreamers “Hibernate” Again?

By Robin Bates | Published: December 19, 2016

Ellison’s Invisible Man must retreat to a hole–or, as he calls it, hibernate–after getting banged around by reality. With Trump as president, will the Dreamers and others who benefitted from Obama’s prosecutorial discretion have to hibernate as well, returning back to the shadows?

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged DACA, Donald Trump, Dreamers, Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison, undocumented workers | Comments closed

Satanic Trump Unleashing Dark Forces

By Robin Bates | Published: September 1, 2016

When Donald Trump excited the alt-right with his Wednesday night speech promising to deport all undocumented immigrants, he reminded me of Milton’s Satan inspiring Sin and Death after engineering the Fall.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, John Milton, Paradise Lost, politics | Comments closed

America’s Dream: We Contain Multitudes

By Robin Bates | Published: June 23, 2016

My Trinidadian daughter-in-law today becomes an American citizen. I welcome her with an excerpt from Whitman’s “Song of Myself” that contains multitudes.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Song of Myself", citizenship, Diversity, USA, Walt Whitman | Comments closed

Immigrants Touched by Grace

By Robin Bates | Published: April 7, 2016

Philip Levine gives us a poem which serves as a reproof to those in the GOP who bash immigrants. We see much needed moments of humanity, important to remember in this election season.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged immigrants, mercy, Philip Levine | Comments closed

On the Pope, Walls, and Robinson Crusoe

By Robin Bates | Published: March 6, 2016

Pope Francis recently labeled as “not Christian” those who build walls but not bridges. By this standard, the walls, both literal and metaphorical, being advocated by Donald Trump and Ted Cruz bring their own Christianity in doubt. An examination of the walls build by Robinson Crusoe, however, shows how Christians have rationalized walls.