Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for December 20, 2015

And She said, “Let there be light!”

Excellent comment, Wiley. Now if the world would just start paying attention.

Perfect example of a liberal trying to equate xenophobia with the desire of citizens hoping to safely make it home in time to have dinner with the family.

Bethlehem didn’t have a city wall.

Robert Dear, Dylann Roof, getting home safely isn’t nearly a factor of foreigners so much as your local neighborhood yokel.

Goodwill to ALL Man, and may love and courage instead of hate and fear guide us in the coming year, and the future.

For the Christians:Matthew 25:31-46Hebrews 13:2

A fine example of Christian charity…

Nobody wants walls. It’s just a band-aid to try and help with an unacceptable situation. Ask the Israelis. Their wall did a lot of good.

And who said I was a Christian?

And we know what walls do, they keep hatred in and love out. Merry Christmas to all, even the conservatives.

@ Gweedo & Bruno Zeigerts

The Wall by Ivy Leigh

You want me to tear down The Wall?You listen to too much Pink Floyd,and you forgetthat Ivy thrives on walls.

“La Cucaracha” is on the same track.

This one’s fairly brilliant

Entering occupied territories used to be much easier. Of course, getting caught as somebody unfriendly to the occupying forces meant crucifixion if they were feeling jolly and gave you a fair trial, or just on the spot execution if they decided they didn’t like you.Yes. Things were much more civilized then.Rome was a much more benevolent Empire than the U.S..

give it a break.

Obviously some do, and some of them are Jews.Whoa. That was out of left field. Perhaps you’d like to explain the ethnic reference? Or maybe I’ve simply missed something really obvious.

The Three Wise Men weren’t known for blowing up mangers.

Every member of another nation can go to their local US Consulate and apply to enter the U.S. of A legally. Nobody has a “right” to come her illegally. Same with other nations. The “No Foriegners” trope is hilariously stupid.

BTW, I have a thousand MM’s here in a bowl. Only ten have a poison that will kill you. How many do you want?

Please do not use our Holy day for your liberal political views, it is disrespectful.

Frankly I’m dazed and confused about current immigration issues—but that IS beautifully darkly funny.

Good one, Mr. Miller. Thanks!

Oh Trump was around back then?

NB: Jesus was an anchor baby. Even though his parents lived in Nazareth, in Galilee, and he grew up there, his birthplace was born in Bethlehem, conferring Judean citizenship upon him.

Finally a comment on this strip that makes sense!

Just about to delete “Wiley”…just another knee jer liberal whose really not very

In attempting satire, Wiley and most commenters show they do not understand the role deep trance phenomena and post hypnotic suggestion play in determining whethera person will successfully complete the work of leaving home emotionally and do the work of creating a conscious identity nor what happens when people choose not to do this work. Religion is not the problem, as most people only believe they believe and go about their religious life the way middle aged people go about their sex life – they just do it to get it over with and act out the post-hypnotic trances they were taught to parrot as children. Therein lies the problem. The post hypnotic trances being brought over from Mohammedan ethnics conflict with American ones. The adults may not present any problem their entire life and become good citizens. The problem is when their children go through their idenity formation phase and choose not to do the work of growing up and leaving home and doing the work of choosing a conscious identity. This is what we see in the so called “Islamic State”. Rather than do the work described, we see a group of narcissistic, misogynist, emotional ten year olds using Islam as a masquerade for their sex and violence cult, killing innocents to experience the “high” of imagined self power . Fundamentalism, whether Chistian or Mohammedan, is always a sign of limited or arrested developement. It fails to see context and divorces itself from the violence it does to others.The difference is in the trances and post hypnotic suggestions. “Love your enemies”, Love your neighbor as yourself", Forgive those who persecute you are alien to those who want to "kill the infidel’, and believe anyone who says the Jesus of Mohammeds teaching (not the same as the Jesus of the Bible) will burn in hell forever. The Moors in Spain are the example of what the relation between Islamists and the rest of the world could be. It would still be that way today except for the perverting of Islam by persons who did not sucessfully do the work of growing up and leaving home and hijacked Islam for the glorification of their own ego deception. Those are the kind of people who join ISIS or the KKK. The vast majority of those who would come to America won’t be a problem. It’s the small percentage of their children who, rather than doing the work of healthy identity formationton, become terrorists , like Timothy McVeigh, to gain a false sense of self, power, and belonging to avoid becoming psychological adults – these are the ones who will be the problem. We should recognize too – America is not a nation of refugees. America was built by people who had the courage to leave home. It’s what the space program is about about. We should, as an act of mercy, accept these would be immigrants, who have been put in the role of Lazarus by their situation. Whether they present a problem down the line will be determined by the extent to which their parents allow their children to do the work of growing up, leaving home and having their own life. Remember, life is transformation through trance formation. If your are not in control of your trances, your ego deception will project as the enemy others it sees as your forbidden self. That is the problem with any “religion” that tells children to believe or you go to hell. Inflicting teachings that can only be understood by an authentic adult is child abuse.

Thank you, Wiley

I get the point but don´t publish this in Paris!

@Max Doubt

Yes, but they didn’t know they were bearing gifts, now did they?

They could have been terrorists, with AK-47’s made right here in the good ol’ USA.

“We have met the enemy, and not only may they be ours, they may be us.”

Wise men not wanted here!

The three wise men came bearing gifts … not AK-47’s. Whole different scenario.

Yup. Another Wiley strip where he thinks that he knows what’s going on but really has no clue nor does he even have an interest to dispel his ignorance. He’s simply showing his Christophobia again.

If you remember rightly, the Hebrews were under the Roman government. They were already invaded and the Roman emperor intended to use the ’wisemen" as spies to find the child and kill him. I like NoSequitar and I get the point, but this one falls flat history wise.

Bethlehem didn’t have yo worry about one of the wisemen immolating himself and various and sundry innocent bystanders on his way to personal glory and 72 virgins.AM I an isolationist? No. Do I think we should have control over who enters our country, and when? Yes. I think we should have been doing this all along.

It isn’t much different than it was then. The walls are protection against the pillagers who come and take our wealth. Only nowadays they come and stay, continuously consuming our wealth, rather than bagging it up and leaving. But that is this world. Our hope is in the next. In Wiley’s cartoon, just because the wise men were turned away doesn’t mean Jesus wasn’t born.

Wiley: I don’t usually read the comments here because I get so frustrated by one of the viewpoints. But this time, I have to stop to say thank you for a consistently excellent comic, and for today’s spot-on social commentary. (Now, if only the commenters understood the role of a cartoonist, especially an editorial cartoonist, as well as you do…).Merry Christmas, Mr. Wiley! Merry Christmas, Everyone!.And as one of my sons says, “Let’s keep the Saturn in Saturnalia!”

At this time of year (and please forgive me if I’ve misquoted the Bible) is the message not supposed to be: " Peace on earth and goodwill to all men"?

Can’t we all practice a little. As a Canadian, and as a commentary/reply to Saskfan, I am also interested to see how the Syrian refugees we are taking in will blend in. I would love to have the room to take a family in until they get a place of their own and have donated food and clothing to help out.

To all the anti wall people commenting here, tell me this — do you have a lock on your front door? Through your front door come friends, family, loved ones, invited guests, but the lock helps to keep out those who would come in with evil intentions.

Because conservatives want to protect ourselves from Jihad, or because we believe in coming here through LEGAL channels, liberals paint us as anti-immigrant. That’s a lie. LEGAL immigrants who come here at our invitation or with our permission are welcome. Do you do it any differently at your house?

No Foreigners. Does that include ‘angels on high’?

That was unnecessarily hostile and itself incoherent. What is “big money therapy” and “big money selfish walls of soul?”

.This whole thing with immigrants from Syria and even San Salvador reminds me of the South Park episode “Goobacks.” America is in no shape economically, socially, or environmentally to sustain itself without serious, massive, and painful changes. We can’t just turn our backs on immigrants in need; this country was founded on the ideal (not necessarily the reality) that everyone has God given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But we also need to get over ourselves and our wallets to make critical changes to our infrastructure, our economy, and our culture if we hope to sustain a decent standard of living, much less improve things. That’s all I’ll say about it.

Happy Winter Solstice everyone.

Little town of Bethlehem worked a deal with Trump’s masons, I see.(Hey Seuss and his crew hanging out at the Manger Club, ya’ll.Slip the door a Jackson and tell ‘em Big Boy sent you, they’ll let you in.)

Just because they are conservative doesn’t make them Christians. Of all the presidents in my life, the only one I am pretty sure is Christian(he is a Sunday school teacher after all) was a Democrat. How he got there was because he was the only one on the scene that was squeeky clean(even though he had colorful brother) after the Nixon years. King Ronnie ran on the “Moral Majority” ticket because he did not want the Ca Republican stuff to rool downhill.

I think that Trump, like spring snow, will melt away.

Congratulations Wiley, really approbate message. Hope those religionists receive it. An irony of ironic dimensions.

Luke 2:14 “…peace among men of good will.”

The walls were never for strangers carrying gold and saleable spices.

Don’t be ridiculous. All they had to do was to show them that they had gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and they would have been welcomed with open arms.

That’s all right, there was no room at the inn for undesirables either. Given any validity to the story, the three wise men, may actually have been Buddhists.

Magi are for Epiphany. While I appreciate the strip, and understand it . . . I freely admit I get very nitpicky when it comes to the Christmas story. Carry on.

The human brain is an amazing organ. It keeps working 24 hours a day,7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, from before you leave the womb,right up to the day you find a religion.

Wiley: good ‘toon. I, as essentially a Buddhist, shared the message of Christmas and Jesus’ teachings that make sense, and good rignt-wingers and assumed “Christians” attack the message, interesting.

As coming in as a foreigner, at high speed, is a threat, I assume they’ll want a Patriot missile battery to take out Santa Clause before he can plant those possible bombs in our homes.

Over 355 mass shootings in the US, over 11,000 deaths at a minimum, and maybe four of those shootings involved Muslims, I stand by my contention that our “good neighbors” are the real danger.

Also, I live less than a mile from a prison, and only lock my doors if I’m going away for a few days, and usually not even then as my son comes by to feed the cat and dog. I do not live in constant fear, of foreigners, or my neighbors, even the convicted criminals.

Americans are now supposed to live in terror of a Muslim invasion, and are calling for more defenses than I was used to setting up, in Viet Nam during the war, and I survived. I refuse to be swayed by false fears today.

The human brain is an amazing organ. It keeps working 24 hours a day,7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, from before you leave the womb,right up to the day you find a religion.

But it’s a beautiful wall!I would rather have a “human wall”, that can use judgement as to who to let in, rather than a stone or electrified wall that just keeps everyone out regardless of circumstances.

I think you need to take a look at the strip again…Umm, there’s really not much to the strip in terms of complexity. Why don’t you enlighten me to the fine points I’ve somehow missed.

Uncontrolled, illegal immigration is the problem. Not legal immigration through the proper channels. What right do illegals, breaking the law, have access to our benefits & monies? They are illegal. They are better taken care of by our government than American citizens are. We have vets who are homeless & can’t get decent care out of the VA hospitals, but illegals are caught & detained in areas comparable to various tourist resorts, all at the taxpayers expense. You have it wrong on this one, Wiley. The kings probably went up to the city gate, presented their required documents or credentials, & then were allowed in the city. Legally.

Now that we’ve indulged in our political correctness moment, is anyone capable of admitting the truth anymore? The Magi travelled across different countries following a holy star. If anyone cares to think about it, the very family they searched for had to travel to prove their identity to in the capital — very much like immigration, one would say . . . IF one were honest about history!

Why? Those with closed minds…Well that’s an easy cop out. In all sincerity, I’d really like to know — with an open mind — what you think the “concept” of the strip is, and how I’ve missed it.

I have a problem with this comic and it being on the comic page of our newspaper. It fits on an opinion page, not on the comic page. It doesn’t take into consideration the reasons why many, including me, object to the ‘throw open the doors’ (if we have any) and ‘come on in’ policy.

I consider this comic a snide and out of place ‘comment’ by the creator; it’s a slam at Christians all over this World.

Now how can that be possible? I agree, taking in refugees is good. But even I don’t try to claim every refugee is a perfect angel. If you were honest you’d have to admit that. Maybe you want to redefine refugee from ‘a person fleeing a bad situation’ to ‘a perfect person fleeing a bad situation into a perfect situation.’ If so, then you can’t accept any ‘refugees’ because none are perfect AND none are fleeing to a perfect situation here on earth. Or to think of it from another perspective - some of the refugees from Syria might be pro ISIS and anti-(one of the other groups that is fighting in Syria). [I said “pro-ISIS” since you said ‘a vote against ISIS’ but I should’ve said “pro-(one of the groups that is fighting in Syria) and anti-…”]

Excellent comic today, Wiley. Simple and to the point, and quite a reaction from the fearful, hateful, and intolerant. Keep it up!

Great strip, Wiley. Thank you.

Sorry, Kaspar, Balthazar and Melchior. Yer names are too dam furrin…

I was reading an article about a Christmas experience by a soldier who was stationed in the middle east in which he mentioned looking east towards Damascus from his post… and it occurred to me that the wise men were very likely from among those people who are today’s Muslims.

Beautifully drawn!

-Herod, the current king (under the Romans its true) who wanted the Death of the new “King of the Jews”. The Romans couldn’t care less.

As a person who studied to be an archaeologist in the Near (now Middle) East, I can tell you that your statement is not accurate at all. The Romans set up puppet rulers in all their states in order to keep things running as the Romans wanted them to run. Anything that might upset that organization would be of interest to the Romans.

-Obviously some do, and some of them are Jews.

I’ve read a number of your posts in which you indicated that you are not a follower of a particular religion. I’ve also read a number of your posts where you talk about my religion, even though you apparently don’t know much about it. For example, you stated that Islam derived its Sharia laws from Leviticus, when Leviticus was written for the former priestly clan of the ancient Israelites (telling them how to atone for various misdeeds of the Jewish people), and also provided direction for the average Jewish person.

Unlike Sharia law, which is intended to be applied to anyone who lives within a nation ruled by Sharia law, Leviticus was to be applied only to the Jewish people.

Now I read another short comment from you that seems to be directed toward Jews. Please explain what you meant by this one.

The art is great. Bad analogy, though. Ignorant.

Wow… That looks like Mexico’s southern boarder.

I suspect she doesn’t know how. What she sees as an analogy is really a metaphor. Who’s really ignorant here?

Hopefully it engages you to think.

@Reynard61 LOL XD

I don’t know… it all seems about right. Just put TEA Party or FAUX NEWS instead of FOREIGNERS and it still works.The universality of the concept proves the value of the work.

You want some Cheese with that Whine?.Sorry, you are not allowed to tell the Cartoonist just what he can cast Ridicule on.

What an INCREDIBLE strip. A classic!Thank you

This might be the best comic strip and the best comic panel of the year. You’ve managed to summarize the entire debate with 4 drawings containing one word.

Thank you.

Happy holidays.

My thoughts: we who are awaiting the return of our Savior had better be very careful about who we reject, lest we turn away the very person we are awaiting. As happened to many in Matthew 25.

Sorry Wiley, it doesn’t work that way.

The 3 wise men were rich, men of learning, and probably accompanied by a rather large caravan. Those are always welcome, if only to spend money in your business, home town, nation, or country.

Now if they had been poor wet backs (from swimming across the River Jordan), with nothing more than the hair shirts on their backs, then they’d have been conscipted as slaves by the Romans then occupying the Holy Land.

The three “wise men” were likely astrologers. most “modern” Christians would treat them as heathen pagans or burn then as witches now.

And Heaven has walls both high and strong. Ever wonder why? Rev 21:12-14

if it’s good enough for “god” it better be good enough for you if you believe this stuff.