Eric Cureton

Along with many Americans, I was surprised and saddened upon hearing about last month’s brutal attack on the Speaker of U.S. House of Representatives’ husband in their San Francisco, California home.

A man or woman’s home and place of worship should be sacred, in that they should be free from violation or infringement. I was amazed that many of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s colleagues were not very collegial and made jokes and political puns at the expense of the Speaker and her husband as he recovered from this brutal attack.

I was equally appalled by the lack of news coverage by both liberal and conservative media outlets with regard to the attacker’s legal status in the United States of America.

To my disappointment one of the details of the attacker was glossed over with not even a ripple effect.

This man, this “illegal alien,” this Canadian, is a white man. What a revolting thought, that a white man can be in America illegally.

Yes, finally there was a reported incident that should have garnered more attention than a one-liner at a comedy club. His visa had expired. There are thousands of other white people in America whose visas have expired and no one is looking for them.

When the daily news mentions the words “illegal alien” or “illegals” everyone’s mind shifts to the U.S./Mexico border. Truth be known, our government does not know how many Black or brown people are in the United States illegally.

And it isn’t even concerned about how many white people are in this country illegally either.

There are far more than most of us think or care to think about because it would require some intense soul searching and most of America is not ready to do that.

No U.S. President, Republican or Democrat, can fix our immigration system. It is the job of the U.S. Congress to write the immigration laws. I only wish our Congress had the desire, commitment and resolve to do that.

However, it isn’t going to happen, even if the Republicans take back the House, Senate and presidency because there are political advantages to blaming the other side of the aisle for America’s problems.

Now back to the beginning of this article. The lack of statesmen and stateswomen in our government is really hurting America.

Jesus stated in Matthew 12:25: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.”

Now, if you call on the name of Jesus Christ as your Savior, how can you be happy with the overall political climate in America? The political tone is set from the top down.

Our political leaders in both parties are to blame. We need to insist that our politicians tone down the divisive rhetoric. There is too much vitriol in our politics.

And when an 82-year-old man is attacked in his own house by a white man who is in the country illegally and it becomes a punch line for other politicians something is wrong.

I am certain that had it been a Black or brown person in the country illegally the outcry would have been louder and longer than what we heard about Mr. Pelosi’s attacker.

Eric Cureton is a retired educator, military veteran and minister of the River Street Church of Christ.