The Parsons’ children
Minutemen used to be icons of American patriotism, because of their important role in the American Revolutionary War. They were the first to arrive for battle—ready in a minute—chosen for their enthusiasm and reliability.
Today, patriotism has changed its face and minutemen are icons of American xenophobia and anxiety. Patrolling the borders in search for illegal immigrants, the minutemen undoubtedly picked their name to recall the images of heroic, patriotic young men who fought for their country. Once made up of immigrants, today the minutemen are fighting immigrants.
To stay in the realms of legality, the current minutemen do not engage in any physical fighting; they patrol the borders and warn authorities about illegal immigrants. So here’s the question: if you see a crime, you’d report it to authorities, right? In the majority of cases and circumstances, unquestionably yes. But that’s not the whole story. And I am quickly reminded of a certain literary passage:
“The children, on the other hand, were systematically turned against their parents and taught to spy on them and report their deviations. The family had become in effect an extension of the Thought Police. It was a device by means of which everyone could be surrounded night and day by informers who knew him intimately.”
The minutemen are like the Parsons’ children from Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four with one significant difference: family has become humanity.
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