Sitting in church today I found a pamphlet all crumpled up and thrown on the floor between the pews that read "Long ago, a Frenchman incurred the displeasure of the emperor Napoleon. He was thrown into a dungeon, forsaken by his friends, and forgotten by everyone in the outside world. In loneliness and near despair he scratched on the wall of his cell, "Nobody cares." So many forces in today's world want us to reach the same conclusion, to think that we don't really matter, at least not very much. But these forces are craftier than Napoleon. Instead of locking us in a literal dungeon, they scorn us indirectly. They tell us, for example, that our looks, bank account, career, clothes, résumé, talents, and self-esteem are most important. In short, they put the spotlight on all kinds of different things about us, but they ignore us. By overvaluing those good things, we end up undervaluing the most important thing, our very self that resides beneath. When that happens, we also start to undervalue other persons. This is the root of today's cultural campaign against human dignity." (http://www.mountsaintpeter.org)
I immediately thought of Border Patrol Agent Jesus Diaz who sits in a prison in Del Rio and confined to a small cell resembling modern dungeon used to isolate persons from society and other persons. It appears that human dignity is no longer one of the values possessed by those individuals who make leadership decisions of persons who are no longer in favor of their "own" standards and values such as the case against Jesus Diaz. Treated with total disrespect as well as total disregard for the own personal difficulties endured during his loyal service to this country for 8 years as a border agent trampled his rights, his dignity and his freedom as they never considered this to be a major factor when he was prosecuted and just recently denied bail bond to go home. Denied bail and pronounced to be a threat to the "community" that he fought so hard to protect, he will not be able to go home to his family as we all await his sentencing. Just like the lost and forgotten friend thrown into the dungeon centuries ago, Jesus Diaz sits there alone, with almost a degree of certainty to reach a point in his life where his faith in mankind could dwindle on the facts of his case and that he did not do anything wrong to deserve this kind of abuse and punishment from his former bosses, the government.
Jesus Diaz is receiving prayers and well-wishing from many out there in the free world who recognize the importance of his dilemma and wrongful incarceration. Those prayers and support provided must keep the hope in this man's spirit alive and to keep the flame of optimism gleaming and bring his life back in order. Time will tell of the injustice as others will see how he was wrongfully accused of an act that was not a violation of "color of law" as claimed but merely an act to maintain control over a suspect. An illegal alien who resisted his [Diaz's] efforts to take him into custody of the matter and process his apprehension according to due process afforded under the law and who today roams freely while Agent Diaz sits there in a dungeon like setting awaiting his destiny for a possible sentence of 10-35 years in prison.
Jesus Diaz, just like in the story where the prisoner saw a green shoot coming up through the cracks of the concrete stones on the dungeon's floor, will witness a growth of kindness and compassion from others until it flowers and blooms, showing him that when ever you feel down and out because of circumstances beyond your control, God will always give you a sign that He is there and that "He Cares" about you. The term "human dignity" is most important. It represents a universal declaration of human rights as our own constitution so states [so eloquently] that it preserves our individual rights. It is apparent and it is obvious that the U.S. government or its agents do not regard Jesus Diaz as a person who deserves to be treated with dignity as they have abused his case making a mockery out of the justice system by prosecuting an innocent man.
Treating Agent Diaz as mere specks of carbon, dust and without conscious matter, they have alienated themselves from the human race to punish someone who for political reasons have offended them in some way and who they decided must carry the brunt of their political message that entails their lack of human rights and lack of respect for Agent Diaz as they imposed on him cruel and unusual punishment and treatment. They did not support and value his life although he has provided for them faithful and dedicated service to protect this country. It appears that those responsible for his incarceration have lost their capacity to make sound moral choices, their capability to recognize his value to his country, his family and his community, and most of all, they have lost the ability to respect his dignity as a lawful citizen and a man who needs to be released and go home to his family.
