As this nation marks its 250th anniversary, we are again in need of our “better angels.”
In his first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln called on the country to maintain unity by heeding its better angels. The political leaders ignored him, the Civil War ensued, and the simmering societal conflict boiled over into the deadliest war in our nation’s history.
With great respect for our fellow Americans who came before us, we must learn from their grave mistakes and choose a better way.
France gifted the Statue of Liberty to the United States to commemorate our first centennial and the abolition of slavery. The broken shackles at Lady Liberty’s feet represent the great ideal of freedom; the torch in her hand represents enlightenment which includes representative democracy. These are two of our better angels.
When the United States last celebrated its bicentennial, fifty years ago, we were beginning the resettling of one million Vietnamese immigrants fleeing their country because of the Vietnam War, in one of history’s largest mass exoduses.
Americans, through our churches and community groups, and government help, showed great compassion in accommodating the new immigrants. Many of us felt a moral responsibility to open our hearts and land to them.
There were some exceptions, notably the Ku Klux Klan terrorism against Vietnamese fishermen along the Texas coast, to which a federal judge put an end.
This year’s celebration is quite different than the bicentennial. Many federal and state officials, with the backing of some judges, have shut their hearts to immigrants in the country who have fled religious and political persecution, cartel violence, and severe economic suffering.
Just immigration laws and applying them equitably are of great importance. But we’re not trying to do that. We’re led by a president who vilifies immigrants in the country, uses language that none of us would use at the dinner table to describe immigrants, and posts disgraceful memes of immigrants that any parent would chastise their kids for looking at.
None of us believe, and the facts do not show, that this administration’s immigration crackdown is directed against criminals. Rather, it targets families who are of nationalities, races, and ethnic origins which are Brown and Black.
Immigrants who keep court dates on their path to asylum or legitimizing their legal status, obeying the law, are arrested and deported at whim when they come to court. Our tax money is being used to imprison young students, breaking up families, and attacking people whose hard work has been doing the job that Americans will not do.
What has gone wrong with our country? Where are this hatred and injustice coming from? There’s been a big change since the bicentennial 50 years ago.
We can be a nation of enormous generosity. We helped rebuild Europe after World War II. Thereafter, various foreign aid programs showcased our commitment to making the global community healthier, and better fed and immunized. The administration abruptly terminated these life-saving efforts in 2025, causing the deaths of millions.
Some of this hatred, malevolence, and selfishness can be laid at the feet, ironically, of Christian nationalism. This movement isn’t based on the Gospel of Jesus, but upon societal conformity and control. We are not alone in our view. Pope Leo XIV and other religious leaders and bishops join us in wary condemnation of Christian nationalism.
Generosity and compassion were at play with the Vietnamese immigrants who fled to our country. Our current government leaders reject that compassion and mock it. Even worse, they stir up hatred among people rather than helping craft civil society.
We know our words will not suddenly change the un-American and un-Christian attacks on people and immigrants, but perhaps these comments might help some to stop and think: What kind of United States do we want and want to pass on? Our patriotic duty to “create a more perfect union” compels us to heed our better angels.
Editor’s Note: The above guest column was penned jointly by the Rev. Tim Anderson, executive director of Austin City Lutherans, and the Rev. James C. Harrington, of St. James’ Episcopal Church in Austin.
