The Quality of Mercy

STC 22296, title page

The rain fell gently (but persistently) this morning.  It wasn’t especially cold and there was no wind – not even a zephyr.  As I walked down to the chicken coop, Portia’s words from “The Merchant of Venice” came to mind:  The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven, upon the place beneath. But it wasn’t Portia’s image I visualized.  It was Jenny A. Durkin, Mayor of Seattle.  Nor was a courtroom in sixteenth century Venice the setting that came to mind.  No, it was yesterday’s edition of the Washington Post featuring Mayor Durkin’s extraordinary article headlined, Seattle isn’t afraid of Immigrants, Mr. Trump.  It begins:

Here’s a message to President Trump: Seattle is not afraid of immigrants and refugees. In fact, we have always welcomed people who have faced tremendous hardships around the world. Immigrants and refugees are part of Seattle’s heritage, and they will continue to make us the city of the future.

What does scare us? A president and federal government that would seek to weaponize a law enforcement agency to punish perceived political enemies. A would-be despot who thinks the rule of law does not apply to him.

I read the article several times and commend it to others who are aghast at Trump’s recent threats against sanctuary cities. Not only do I hope the other hundreds of sanctuary locations stay firm in their resolve, I hope that Mayor Durkin’s words are inspirational to other cities, counties, and states, as well.   I commend the article to everyone and anyone who is alarmed by Trump’s twitter twaddle.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/seattle-isnt-afraid-of-immigrants-mr-trump/2019/04/12/f26c370e-5d5e-11e9-9625-01d48d50ef75_story.html

I spent a bit of extra time out in that gentle rain this morning.  “Portia,” I thought to myself, “thy name is Jenny.”  (Or should that be the other way around?)

Leave a Reply