Note the way in which these images justify shrinking the range of moral community. The crisis demands setting moral doubts aside and making painful decisions. These analogies were, of course, comfortable and somewhat self-serving. That metaphor called up visions of a shared fate, with everyone dependent on everyone else for the success of the mission. Today, the dominant images in the debate over immigration give some clues to how Americans define our moral community.
Invasion connotes a military campaign of hostile forces crossing our borders.
Waves of immigrants suggests a natural disaster, a tidal wave that is eroding our sea walls and flooding the land. Both images depersonalize the newcomers, heighten a sense of crisis, and demand stern countermeasures against a perceived threat. An alternate image is the Statue of Liberty, which welcomed generations of European immigrants and appeared in Tienanmen Square. It embodies a spirit of hospitality to strangers, which acknowledges their humanity and invites the host to make a compassionate response. On the other hand, hospitality does not make excessive claims on the host, who must have a place to welcome the guests and means to feed them.