Every time I turn on the television, walk down the street,or meet friends for coffee these days it seems that the hot topic ofimmigration comes up! This blog entry is not about my views on the topic…ratherit is my observation that we need to be very careful as we discuss it aroundour children!

I have been listening to adults ranting about “those people”and how we need to “get rid” of them. How “they” are ruining our country andneed to get out.  I want to remindall of us that when we start calling people…God’s precious creation… “thosepeople” as opposed to “us,” we are teaching our children that we are setapart...better than others and worst of all, that some people are invaluable.

These kinds of messages are incongruent with the things wetell children every day such as: All people are special; God loves everyone sowe should as well; and we should love everyone.

We cannot expect our children to “live” what we are failingto “live.”  I do not expect thatyou and I will not have strong opinions about immigration, but I wouldencourage us all to watch when and where we express ourselves. Remember, ourchildren are listening!

And while we are being reflective about when and where weshould share our feelings about others, perhaps we should also remind ourselvesof the things we teach our children. Everyone is a child of God, we should loveeveryone, and no one is better than another. Perhaps we should ask ourselves ifwe are angry with people or a broken system. . and before we begin callingpeople names and speaking of them as if they are non-human, perhaps we need toimagine what we would say to a child who used the same language when speakingabout a school friend or neighbor.

I understand that this is a huge issue… I understandconversation needs to happen to solve the problem… but remember… we are beingwatched by the most impressionable little people in our lives. It reminds me ofthe song… “O be careful little mouths what you say!”