Ashamed.
Each and every American should be ashamed for allowing the U.S. Government to mistreat children as it has done and is doing at this moment.
We are a country “of the people, by the people, for the people”. We should be able to address this issue immediately.
“Children’s lives should not be a bargaining tool" was one of the arguments of the restrictions on abortions in several states, but it seems as though those very same people will not get out and protest to help children who are being subjected to “unsafe and unsanitary conditions” in government facilities. (Unsafe and unsanitary is directly from a report on the conditions done by our own government.)
If a parent or guardian had neglected and abused children as our government is and has done, they would be in jail. The federal government is threatening to take over Mississippi Child Protective Services again over the deaths of three children in Mississippi and other violations of care, yet the Federal government in these detention centers has had at least three children's deaths due to negligence. Other deaths have occurred, but in several of those cases neglect cannot be determined.
The US government has already declared an emergency on the Southern Border and could use that emergency declaration to take care of these children properly with already transferred funds from the defense budget.
Instead, they argue in Federal court on our behalf (see line about a country of the people and by the people) that they do not have to provide beds, or blankets, or soap or toothbrushes to children. They even argue allowing the children to sleep was not a necessity of safety for the children. Yes, all this is documented by federal court and a video of the the government’s attorney (the one representing we the people) as well as transcripts from the case are readily available.
This is not some abstract argument or fake emergency. This is real and if we (our government) can declare an emergency (bypass congress) to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia or declare an emergency to spend taxpayer dollars to battle China’s IT hacks on our country. If we can get congress and the White House to give a $6.2 billion in tax breaks to corporations then we must get aid and help to the hundreds of neglected and abused children living in detention centers we are in charge of.
Too many good decent people say “I don’t want to hear about that” or say “that is not true.” I say get your head out the sand and go read the government's own reports on the detention centers or watch the videos from the federal courtroom about the conditions.
At the very least, email your congressperson and tell them to do something about this. Contact Gov. Phil Bryant, he supposedly has a good relationship with Vice President Pence and Trump. Republicans and Democrats or White House and Congress blaming each other is just like divorced parents blaming each other after their neglected child has died.
Let’s make this a country “of the people, by the people, for the people” by contacting every elected official to do something about this today not in two weeks or never.
Our country puts satellites in space, overthrows dictators and so much more yet can stop ourselves from neglecting children at our own detention facilities?
I write this column to assuage my own guilt a little over the fact our government is doing this and continues to do this and I know my emails to congress and our state leaders will have little effect so I call on everyone to contact them.
Editor’s note: Joseph McCain is the publisher of The Choctaw Plaindealer, The Webster Progress Times and Winston County Journal. He maybe reached at newsroom@winston countyjournal.com or 662-803-5236.
