The purposeful separation of children from their families is child abuse, and it violates international norms, universal morality and law. There are eight things I think should be considered here. (I should note that this is not intended as some partisan political rant but, first of all an articulation of moral outrage shared by an increasingly bi-partisan coalition, second, as a professional psychologist who has seen the long-term effects of childhood traumatization and, third, as a father.)
First is the shear heartless cruelty of purposely traumatizing vulnerable children in the name of “national security,” economics, legality or any other attempt at justification. Justifying it does not change its nature as criminal child abuse.
Second is the bizarre use of Biblical passages to not only support antisocial behavior, but also to claim that governments are established by their god and, therefore, we should be obedient. We do not live in a theocracy but a constitutional democratic republic. This scriptural claim is an affront not only to the scriptures, but also to the constitution, rule of law, due process and the dignity of individual sovereignty to judge whether the government is behaving poorly or not. Furthermore, I’m left wondering if these people actually ever read the Bible with its admonitions “Whatsoever you do unto the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me,” or “do no harm to your neighbor,” or “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” or “by your love for one another, others will know you are my disciples,” or “love is the fulfillment of the law,” as well as those calling for care of the exiles and immigrants, etc. In short, I’m appalled that these Republicans (or any one else) would use scriptures to justify sociopathic, immoral and unlawful actions. They (and their followers) have lost all moral credibility and should be removed from whatever civil positions they might hold.
Third, as the world gains perspective, I wonder if this manner of separation of children from their parents and the destruction of families might come to be considered a war crime. Just think what the reaction would be if this were done by an Islamic country. They are using (and willfully harming) children to serve their ends – as tools to manipulate foreign and domestic populations.
Fourth, let me return to America’s loss of moral credibility and magnanimity. We have suddenly become small, dark, defensive, paranoid, and cruel. In our name, under our watch, our government has turned from a country hospitable to human dignity and aspiration to one willing to sacrifice the well-being of children and other vulnerable populations for political purposes.
Fifth, I must ask the question, who is profiting from this? Who have been willing to give up any sense of conscience, moral responsibility or religious authenticity to earn money by supplying cages, fencing, foods, clothes, militarized support, personnel to run the camps, rent, etc.?
Sixth, let’s look at the impact on the children and their families. Although the president’s supporters try to portray the administration – and even themselves – as victims of a tide of immigrants, they are the people in power. It is the families and their children who are being victimized – not the powerful.
Purposefully traumatizing children through child abuse and destruction of families will certainly have adverse consequences not only in the development of these children, but also in terms of what we are setting up for the future. People who were coming to this country (I speak here of the sincere asylum seekers) inspired by America’s ideals are being turned to enemies; and their children into people who will grow up soured by a system that has not only abused them but also blames them for that abuse. We do have a choice here. We could be fostering productive citizens who will contribute to our country by honestly using the system already in place to sort out the true asylum seekers from the opportunists, and then helping them integrate. When any of those damaged children – their development disrupted by adverse experience – act as angry criminals, it will be we, the American people and our administration, who have shaped them. There is no way to avoid this responsibility. (We can only hope at this point that others will be resilient enough to move through this, but that doesn’t alleviate us of responsibility for willfully imposing the trauma.)
Seventh, we must remember that this is facilitated by a president who readily admits to being uninvolved in the rearing of his own children. What does this tell us about his psychology, sense of responsibility and ability to grasp the importance of parental bonding with children? Deeper analysis of the president’s psychological conditions is left to books already published, the www.adutytowarn.org website, and more writings planned by mental health professionals who see the obvious pathology in his behavior.
Finally, there are those who support this sociopathic narcissist and his policies no matter what he does because he has touched on (and facilitated) long-buried fears and has given them permission to act out their disorders rather than resolving them. They are being played for the benefit of profiteers. Furthermore, these are people who do not share our common human values about the sanctity and/or value of family and family bonds, about the preciousness of children. Nor do they show usual moral imperatives to protect children from abuse. Even if one supports a strong border policy, one could still object to this particular means of attempting to deter and punish those seeking to partake of a “great” country.
The Coming Storm
At this point, the rest of the world and most Americans are turning against the regime’s policy of breaking up families and traumatizing children (ironically supported by the party of “family values”). This cruel and abusive faction of our government will not give up without a fight. These are not people who share our values of respect, due process and human dignity.
A still worse storm may be coming as thousands of children will have experienced their victimization as public policy and will have little investment in “the American way.” Such is the natural consequence, but those in power will do anything possible to avoid looking into the eye of the children they abused or to recognize their part in the adverse behaviors that may come from adverse experiences.
I would again call attention to the absurdity of blaming asylum seekers for the behavior of the powerful. This is the “you made me hurt you” rationale we hear from nearly all abusers in dysfunctional relationships. And there are the bizarre arguments over semantics such as whether the children are confined in cells, cages, pens, fences or warehouses: they are still confined, broken from families and traumatized.
Religious organizations, normally highly reactive to any threat to their vision of family bonds, have been strangely slow to stand up to abusive behaviors because of having invested themselves in political factions rather than their own morality. This deal, it turns out, was with the Devil.
We also see the hardening of the obedient followers of the “cult 45,” as their hatred, fear and anger are turned away from the real threat to our civility and directed onto the most vulnerable of peoples. This hardly a testament to their bravery or patriotism.
America’s conceit of Judeo-Christian tradition has obviously been a thin veneer hiding a festering hatred. It has miserably failed us. Perhaps I should say we have failed the ideals of this tradition, but the result is the same. In the end, we have failed not only ourselves, and our traditions, but our children, our neighbors’ children, the poor, the vulnerable, the suffering and all those who have looked to us for guidance and support as an example of a better life for families and children.