Who's going to take care of them?

That's what Santiago Moncado, a 65-year-old Austin resident, was quoted as saying in an Associated Press article in today's Tri-City Herald: POLL: IMMIGRATION CONCERNS RISE WITH TIDE OF KIDS

What bothers me with this attitude isn't that Moncado is obviously Hispanic. Or that no one seems to care that children are sleeping on cold concrete. Or even that more and more Americans just want to get rid of the problem. No, it's this:

We are supposed to be the country that defends human rights. That stands up for the little guy. That as it says on the Statue of Liberty:

Those of you that reject this. That reject these children. That want to send them back to some of the most perilous countries. Those of you that believe we are still an "exceptional" nation, let me ask you this:

What would you say about this situation if it were a different country being inundated with these children? Would you still want those children to "go home"?

What if these children were coming from Canada or from Europe or -- from Cuba? Would you still want these children to "go home"?

What would your answer be then? When I hear Americans refusing to help children -- I no longer think of us as an "exceptional" nation. Do you know what I think I hear Americans talk about "exceptionalism"? I think it means "everyone except us"!