Fox News host Laura Ingraham Wednesday on “The Ingraham Angle” lamented that the “America we know and love doesn’t exist anymore” because of demographic changes in the country. She blamed this on illegal and legal immigration. Ingraham also said, “This is a national emergency, and he must demand that Congress act now. There is something slipping away in this country, and it’s not about race or ethnicity. It’s what was once a common understanding by both parties that American citizenship is a privilege, and one that at a minimum requires respect for the rule of law and loyalty to our constitution.” Ingraham’s comments about changing demographics sparked a firestorm on social media, with some people accusing her of using white nationalist rhetoric.
I don’t know if this was a dog whistle or not. What I couldn’t grasp was “the America we know and love.” To me, the America we know and love is a place where “we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. I do believe citizenship is privilege and how we handle immigration is important to the sanctity of our nation, human life and how we treat others.
After reading this article, I decided to research a little more. Anne Coulter tweeted, “Try googling “the browning of America” — you can say exactly what @IngrahamAngle said, PROVIDED it’s followed by “HAHA WHITE AMERICA! GET READY TO DIE!”. Wow! So I googled and came across several articles about the Browning of America.
How The Browning Of America Is Upending Both Political Parties
October 12, 201611:16 AM ET
Domenico Montanaro
“The country is changing — it’s getting browner, as population growth slows among whites. Non-whites now make up a majority of kindergartners; by the next presidential election, the Census Bureau predicts they will be a majority of all children; and by 2044, no one racial group will be a majority of the country.”
“America is undergoing a demographic change — posing unique challenges for both Republicans and Democrats.”
William H. Frey in Diversity Explosion: How New Racial Demographics Are Remaking America November 19, 2014 a study on ethnicity and population change writes of the decline in both population and vitality of America’s European-descended population, and its replacement by more recently arrived population groups from everywhere in the non-European world. Frey describes this change as “the browning of America.” He noted in the current decade the white population has begun to decline in the nation as a whole. He states that America is on the cusp of becoming a country with no racial majority, and new minorities are poised to exert a profound impact on U.S. society, economy, and politics.
This weekend an “alt-right” march is scheduled to take place in Washington, DC with David Duke as a keynote speaker. Last year a young woman sadly lost her life during protests in Charlottesville, VA. I encourage everyone to pray for a peaceful protest in our nation’s capital this coming Sunday regardless of whether you believe in the views of those protesting.
Why are we still at this place? Will we ever move beyond racial barriers? Even though laws and social norms regarding race have undeniably improved in America over the past fifty years, our nation remains deeply divided along racial lines. Sadly in the United States the concept of race has been used to divide and oppress. The Bible speaks of race differently. ALL human beings, no matter what their genetic traits, are part of the same race: the human race. Acts 17:26 illustrates this point best: “And [God] made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place” (ESV).
In creation, we find the doctrine of the imago dei (image of God). Every person of every ethnicity has equal worth, dignity, and value no matter their lot in life. To dishonor a human being, God’s creation is to dishonor God Himself. Revelation 7:9 speaks of a time when “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
The word “immigration” does not appear in the U.S. Constitution or any of its Amendments. The Preamble does state “We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
God is a just God. Justice is close to the heart of God, so much so “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8) God is not only concerned about our relationship with Him but also about our relationships with one another. He commands “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Does this type of rhetoric create a spirit of fear among those who feel they are losing something? God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a sound mind …. God is love and righteous in all His ways. There is no fear in love, because perfect love cast out all fear! I believe a cleansing is taking place, but it’s not ethnic cleansing. I believe God wants to cleanse our hearts so that America can be great again. America needs much prayer, hearts that are continually shaped and changed by the Word of God and prayer, lives that are loving and bold because of prayer, a nation that comes back to our God, that is continually asking for His grace and healing. He is the same. Yesterday, today, and forever.
Blessings,
Dr. Francine
BEYOND CHURCH WALLS 