Our Scapegoats- Illegal Immigrants and Homosexuals

They seem to take turns on our magical wheel of scapegoats, don't they? Rockers make brief appearances on the wheel, as do video games, and movies, but in recent years, there seems to be two scapegoats above all the rest: Illegal Immigrants and Homosexuals.

When times are tough, things aren't going right, things are going the way the "Good Lord" intended, then it's time to point fingers, and who better to point fingers at than Illegal Immigrants and Homosexuals?

Why do I say that? For the simple fact that the majority of this country does not support Illegal Immigrants or Homosexuals. We've become a little more tolerant with "gays," but I call it the quiet-tolerance, where people turn a blind eye to what might be construed as "gay." As long as they don't see it or hear about it, then they're fine. I honestly don't see that as a great deal of tolerance toward a group of people. It'd be like KKK members in their early stages of life trying to be "tolerant" of African-Americans. So long as they don't see them anywhere or hear anything come out of their mouths if they do bump into them, then, they're fine.

There's always (thus far, hopefully not always and forever) a hot-button issue dealing with homosexuals. There used to be talk that they were the reason for the AIDS virus. There's been an issue with their "lifestyle," if you want to call it that and if being "gay" is innate or choice. There's been argument amongst some on it being a curable disease (just read up on James Dobson's belief). Then, there are the more recent arguments on "gays'" rights to receive equal benefits of married couples without actually being married, of adopting, and of marrying one another. So, regardless of how far we've come in accepting this minority, once more acceptance is gained by them, another issue comes about to steady the progress that was made just beforehand. The latest has revolved around adding an amendment to the Constitution to ban "gay" marriage.

Whenever a scandal is brewing in the Bush Administration, when times are down (which has been pretty constant over the past year), or when they want to divert America's attention away from their mistakes, one of these two issues will likely come about.

The sad part is that some people go along with whatever the government says, especially party-affiliated sheep. So, regardless of all the wars going on and potential wars to come, we have to focus our attention on adding an amendment to the Constitution to ban gays from getting married. When so many of our soldiers and Iraqi civilians are dying overseas, we have to focus our attention on a very small percentage of our population who would have died trying to make it to our country (some, who actually did) just for a chance at a better life.

There are much more important issues to be dealt with than illegal immigration and "gays." I think, subconsciously, illegal immigrants might make some of us feel guilty in ways, because it's obvious that they're more appreciative of the American way of life than many of us are. Our soldiers are overseas dying for what the president told them to be our "freedoms." These immigrants are dying just for a chance to give their families and themselves a better life. All this goes on, while many of us sit on our couches, watching how immigration is one of the largest problems facing our country today. Perhaps some of us are a bit paranoid about it as well, considering the fact that we took over the country from the Natives and gave them little in return. Perhaps that's made us somewhat paranoid, knowing that it's happened in the past, and therefore, could happen in the future. It also bothers me that many don't see the similarities between the illegal immigrants coming up from Central America and where we all started. Why did most of our families, from Europe, Africa, Asia, and elsewhere, risk their lives into coming here? For a chance to provide their families and themselves a better life.

Some are even more extreme on the "gay" issue. Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas used to protest at soldiers' funerals by saying that the death was due to our country's tolerance for homosexuality. Some blamed Hurricane Katrina on our tolerance of homosexuality. There are numerous hate crimes directed toward "gays," as well. Many of these end in death. Many "Christians" claim that the Bible condemns homosexuality. That's where homosexuals have a bit more to deal with than illegal immigrants. If an issue is said to be immoral by someone in the religious community and they give documentation (the Bible) of that, then there are going to be a lot of people protesting and fighting against that issue. But, I have read texts written by actual pastors and priests, who claim otherwise. While I have not read anyone state that the Bible advocates homosexuality, I have read plenty of sources claiming that it does not condemn the acts, either. Whether someone interprets the passages as advocating, condemning, or being neutral on homosexuality, there lies one constant- none of us wrote the darn things! So, who are we to say that we know 100%, without a doubt, that our interpretation is the correct one? Simple, we can't. Yeah, that may be a pill that's a bit tough to swallow for many, but you'll have to deal with it.

So, what is the true reason behind the government making these two groups of people scapegoats? Besides what I said before, about diverting attention away from their own mistakes and scandals? It again deals with religion. Evangelical Christians are the reason why Bush's approval rating isn't the lowest in recorded history. They may be the reason why he "won" the 2004 (s)election. While, approximately 35% of the average population approves of Bush, approximately 65% of Evangelical Christians approve of the job he's doing. That number is probably higher now after the death of Al-Zawqari. The "gay" issue is one of the most important to the Evangelical Christians. Many of them were disappointed that Bush had not tried to follow-through with his earlier talks about adding the "gay" ban amendment to the Constitution. Even though Bush and his administration knew there was little to no chance that the proposal would be passed, they went for it to appease the Evangelical Christians and hopefully earn their vote (for Republicans) in the mid-term elections. With illegal immigration, Bush would've liked to have solidified his position amongst conservatives and Republicans, but has done anything but that. In fact, the Democrats may be more satisfied with his position on the issue than Republicans.

All Bush is trying to do now is make himself a non-factor in the mid-term elections. If he allows himself to be a factor, there's a good chance that the Democrats will gain control of the House or the Senate. But, if he's a non-factor, then Republicans have a better opportunity to maintain control of both the House and Senate. The mid-term elections are just about five months away, so Bush and his administration will do everything they possibly can to reach out to their base and foundation of conservatives and Republicans (and Evangelical Christians) to all but guarantee themselves votes in November. They regressed with the immigration issue, progressed with the "gay" issue, and have progressed again with Al-Zawqari's death. We'll see what else they have up their sleeves in the upcoming months.