I watched a video of President Trump referring to immigrants as “animals.” Of all of the things that are distressing and disturbing about this chaotic and morally bankrupt Presidency, these words seem the most concerning because they are words used by people in power to oppress other groups of people.

To start, here’s a recounting of the context of the President’s words: In the May 17^th piece Trump draws rebuke for ‘animal’ remark at immigration talk, by AP reporter Jill Colvin, President Donald Trump is recorded as saying the following: “’We have people coming into the county, or trying to come in—and we’re stopping a lot of them,’ Trump said during the immigration roundtable after Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims complained about state restrictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. ‘You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. These aren’t people. These are animals.’”

While President Trump was referring to the MS-13 gang members, it seems clear that he paints all immigrants with the broad brushstroke of criminality which leads to inhumane treatment. If this were not so, there would be no need for “the Department of Homeland Security [to undertake] its most extreme measure yet to discourage asylum seekers from coming to the U.S.—family separation.” Children are being separated from their families at our borders to discourage asylum seekers. These are not drug lords. These are people who are fleeing violence and oppression in their own country for a better, safer way of life.

Perhaps our President, as well as all people of faith who support him, would do well to remember this bit from Leviticus 19:33-34: “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” Or how about these words from Jesus in Matthew 25:35-36 “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”

We cannot afford to accept the President’s language as behavior as normal. In the March 1, 2018 interview Wondrous Doubt with Stephen Batchelor, host Krista Tippett shared this quote from Abraham Joshua Heschel: “I would say about individuals, an individual dies when he ceases to be surprised. I am surprised every morning that I see the sun shine again. When I see an act of evil, I’m not accommodated…I’m still surprised. That’s why I’m against it, why I can hope against it. We must learn how to be surprised. Not to adjust ourselves. I am the most maladjusted person in society.”

We cannot afford to accept the President’s language and behavior as normal because it is language and behavior that leads to dehumanization.

Brene Brown, in her Book Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for Ture Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone writes: “Dehumanization is a process. I think Michelle Maiese, the chair of philosophy department at Emmanuel College, lays it out in a way that makes sense, so I’ll use some of her work here to walk us through it. Maiese defines dehumanization as ‘the psychological process of demonizing the enemy, making them seem less than human and hence not worthy of humane treatment.’ Dehumanizing often starts with creating an enemy image. As we take sides, lose trust and get angrier and angrier, we not only solidify an idea of our enemy, but also start to lose our ability to listen, communicate and practice even a modicum of empathy.

Once we see people on ‘the other side’ of a conflict as morally inferior and even dangerous, the conflict starts being framed as good versus evil. Maiese write, ‘Once the parties have framed the conflict in this way, their positions become more rigid. In some cases, zero-sum thinking develops as parties come to believe that they must either secure their own victory or face defeat. New goals to punish or destroy the opponent arise, and in some cases more militant leadership comes into power.;

Dehumanization has fueled innumerable acts of violence, human rights violations, war crimes, and genocides. It makes slavery, torture, and human trafficking possible. Dehumanizing others is the process by which we become accepting of violations against human nature, the human spirit, and for many of us, violations against the central tenets of our faith.”

We cannot afford to let the chaos of leadership normalize behaviors that are dangerous and antithetical to the faith we proclaim. I hope you will be at prayer for our leaders and our nation and that you will speak up when your time comes.