LEVITICUS

1 September 2015

Remember every good Christian's favorite bible version, Leviticus 18, which is trotted out whenever anyone wants to justify discrimination against gay people?  You know the one about not lying with a man they way you lie with a woman (which I figure makes lesbianism OK 'cause it isn't addressed).

Leviticus 18 was the inspiration for my very favorite West Wing moment.  President Bartlet encounters a Dr. Laura type radio personality:

President Josiah Bartlet: “I like how you call homosexuality an abomination.”

Right Wing Radio Personality: “I don't say homosexuality is an abomination, Mr. President. The Bible does.”

President Josiah Bartlet: “Yes, it does. Leviticus.”

Right Wing Radio Personality: “18:22.”

President Josiah Bartlet: “Chapter and verse. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions while I had you here. I'm interested in selling my youngest daughter into slavery as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. She's a Georgetown sophomore, speaks fluent Italian, always cleared the table when it was her turn. What would a good price for her be? While thinking about that, can I ask another? My Chief of Staff Leo McGarry insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly says he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or is it okay to call the police? Here's one that's really important 'cause we've got a lot of sports fans in this town: Touching the skin of a dead pig makes one unclean. Leviticus 11:7. If they promise to wear gloves, can the Washington Redskins still play football? Can Notre Dame? Can West Point? Does the whole town really have to be together to stone my brother John for planting different crops side by side? Can I burn my mother in a small family gathering for wearing garments made from two different threads? Think about those questions, would you?"

I love how the Bible, Trump's favorite book (which is so special to him he won't name a single bible verse that he likes or a single story that has inspired him) gets pulled out whenever someone needs the rationalization for doing something that I find abhorrent.

You know what Leviticus 19 says?

And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Of course we all know that the only people coming here from Mexico are criminals and rapists ("and I suppose a few good people") and it's our duty to do all we can to keep this bad element from entering our country, no matter what Trump's favorite book advises.

We have apparently become a model for the rest of the world as well.  An estimated 9 million refugees have fled Syria, trying to find shelter in EU countries.  "After escaping a devastating war, frustrated Syrian refugees in aid-starved neighboring states say they must now choose between joining an exodus to Europe or "returning home to die".

But nobody wants them.  Once they have managed to get across North Africa and Turkey, trying to reach Germany, they are stopped at the border in Hungary, which has built a razor wire fence and threatened to imprison anybody who breaches the fence for up to three years.

“We are going to communicate to them: ‘Don’t come to Hungary,’” says Zoltan Kovacs, the government’s chief spokesman. “’Illegal border crossing is a crime. Do not attempt it, or you are going to be arrested.’”

But what are those millions of people to do?  Their homeland has become an inferno that shows no signs of abating—in four years, half the country has been killed, displaced or forced to flee. Many of them have no homes to which they could return.

I don't know what the answer is, but my heart hurts so much for these desperate people trying to find a safe home, many of them trying to reach countries that know all too well what it's like for a population to be decimated.