Faith-based organizations here in South Santa Clara County thrive due to a shared sense of justice. For 250 years, all expressions of religion have grown due to support guaranteed by our First Amendment constitutional right: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
In 21st century Santa Clara County, we rejoice in the diversity of expression of the Divine. A core value of each religion is justice, whether you practice Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism or the religion of your choice. Justice is a way of life.
Justice is that which seeks to make a positive difference for the common good.
The common good in South County is being severely challenged by what we now know is a serious threat: the construction of a federal facility for the increased presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.). As has been reported, there is little to no transparency on the part of the federal government regarding the exact purpose for this property in unincorporated Gilroy.
County and city officials report they were not notified in advance of this action by federal officials, an action which has caused alarm. While county legal minds do what they must to present their case against this action, I believe all of us have a responsibility to raise a moral case against this injustice.
We are a nation founded on liberty, justice, and self-governance. We have always based common rule upon justice: the adjudication of our liberty which keeps oppressive parties from harming others, while allowing self-governance from the whole citizenry.
Congress, the Executive Branch and the Judiciary, the three co-equal branches of government, are balanced like a three-legged stool and have kept the platform of the Rule of Law balanced. This matters to each and every one of us from the local level, to the state and the country.
At present, we are suffering at the local level because of the imbalance of powers at the federal level. We will all be affected by any circumventing of the powers of our three branches of government.
Our vibrant interfaith community, which functions with deep compassion for one another, is learning what we can from local and county officials as we seek avenues of appropriate response and action. We pray for a peaceful resolution.
Just as our interfaith community gives support to any one of our faith groups threatened by hate, so too are we standing up and speaking out to bring justice to neighbors who are likely to be targeted if a detention processing center is allowed to be built on land known for agricultural stewardship by those very neighbors.
Jesus taught his disciples that the law of God was to love God and love neighbor. It is in loving the other that we form the inner understanding of how to align rightly to create a human legal process that places guardrails on those who fail to do so.
The Rev. Mary B. Blessing, a longtime resident of Morgan Hill, is the Episcopal Priest of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real. She is an active member of Interfaith Clergy Alliance of South County.
