A Better Life
A Better Life directed by Chris Weitz premiered this weekend at local theaters. It is a movie about a Mexican immigrant father and son struggling to survive in America. It is s simple movie with powerful performances and a down-to-earth story.
At one point, fourteen year-old Carlos asks his dad – “Why did you have me?” Later in the film his dad answers him (as I sob into my sleeve) “to make life worth living. To make you a better life.”
The film reminds me of our need to build a better life for our children – to evolve. The instinct is so strong we will do anything, even move to the other side of the planet as most of our ancestors did, to create a better life.
It is also the reason why Promise the Children keeps working year after year to build the village we know it takes to raise a child. We could abandon our community’s immigrant children and sit securely behind high walls of indifference simply caring for “our own”. But if we do we loose an important piece of our humanity. We loose touch with our own ancestors struggle to build something better for us.
Many of us choose to attend a Unitarian Universalist church because we see it is a church that believes in social justice and prods us to do things that will bring about a better world – the kind of place where a dad or a mom can work hard and expect his or her children to do better.
We are at a crossroads in this country. This generation may not have the opportunities that we had. We are all looking for a way forward. My prayer is that we can include everyone’s children, whenever they landed here.
Facebook
Twitter
Blog