Thread by @JMHendersonSr

In certain countries, minority religions flourish. In others, not so much.

Of countries in the former category, consider the United States.

We live in North Carolina, not far from New Bern, which is home to Wicca. New York City was the birthplace of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness. We have Eckankar. We have Transcendental Meditation.

We even have the #flyingspaghettimonster!

By the way, now that you are impatient with my suggestion that America is tolerant of religious diversity in a way some countries are not, I concede that this toleration is a phenomenon of the 20th Century.

The 19th Century proved we could be brutal.

Brutality marked our outstretch arms for Catholics coming to America from Ireland, from Poland, from Italy.

And, of course, the Mormon experience in America in the 19th Century was one of migration westward fleeing the force of communities that rejected some of the more unusual aspects of that faith.

But reasonable folks have to admit -- here in this age -- that the last 100 years have shown an undeniable, generalized openness, as a nation, if not particular communities, to religious variations.

That openness in this country has been matched, until the last 20 years or so, in western Europe. I put a pause on that thought because of the development of laws that restrict the activities of minority religions, particularly to establish physical locations and to proselytize.

But just the history of ISKCON shows how -- even with parental concerns about "brainwashing" -- the West has tolerated, even fostered, religious diversity.

Now, travel to Saudi Arabia.

No public sharing of a faith diverse from Saudi Arabia's Islam. No construction of churches, temples, synagogues.

Travel to post-Saddam Iraq.

Search for the once flourishing communities of Jews and of Christians. In the aftermath of Obama's withdrawal of ground forces there, these communities have been more than decimated.

The fact that one faces the prospect of persecution because of their adherence to a minority religion is one ground on which asylum may be granted by the United States government.

Given the brouhaha over the Executive Order on migration issued by President Donald J. Trump, it does make me wonder whether the average Facebook user, including friends of mine, comprehends either of two facts:

(1) there are countries in which some version, or other, of the Islamic faith is adhered to by the majority of the people of the Nation, and which actively suppress minority faiths, a condition likely to make adherents to such minority faiths eligible for asylum in the USA

and,

(2) our laws have permitted that "special consideration" or exception for persecuted minority faiths for far longer than the three-week presidency of Donald J. Trump.

Here is the supposed "preferential treatment" authorized by the Trump Executive Order:

"Upon the resumption of USRAP [United States Refugee Admission Program] admissions, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, is further directed to make changes, to the extent permitted by law, to prioritize refugee claims made ...

...by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual's country of nationality. ...

... Where necessary and appropriate, the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security shall recommend legislation to the President that would assist with such prioritization."

As you can see, there is no honest sense in which one could claim that Trump's Executive Order expressly provides special privileges or benefits to "Christians."

The word, "Christian" is entirely missing from the Order.

In fact, the only way in which a "Christian" obtains the special "benefit" of being eligible to flee their home country, losing property, jobs, familial connections, a long cultural history, is if they reside in a country where

(a) they, as "Christians" are part of a community that is a minority population in their country

and

(b) they, as asylee applicants, can meet the governing standards for establishing a reasonable fear of persecution because of their adherence to such a minority religion.

So, when you start slamming Trump for favoring "Christians," here is what I actually see and hear from you:

You are the kid at school who confuses the bully for the hero and the hero for the bully.

The religiously zealous majority in a nation choose to disrespect and deny the natural rights of others, minority faith adherents, to observe and practice their faith.

Just like the bully at school refuses to respect and allow the skinny weakling to keep his lunch money. Along comes a stalwart friend to the downtrodden, and he says, I am going to protect you from being bullied by that guy.

You look on in horror.

How could he possibly not understand how discriminatory it is to say, in advance, that he will provide special protection to an economic victim!

Seriously, if you think that Trump has adopted a "special favors for Christians" rule, you are uninformed, worse really than merely ignorant.

I say worse because, in this day and age, you could have read the Executive Order for yourself. Instead, you listened, maybe to a Buzzfeed fake news story or a #CredulousNewsNetwork piece, and simply swallowed whole the lie you were told.

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