Those who understand, really don’t have to say anything, and never is this more self-evident than within the Boston State House. Last week, I attended the “Massachusetts Muslim Day at the State House” put on by the state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and apart from the decorum, the diagonal waves of hidden intent left me reeling.

Sponsored by Sen. James Eldridge, an overtly innocuous and civil-rights rich piece of legislation [An Act promoting the civil rights and inclusion of American Muslims in the Commonwealth], is a Daoist’s jigsaw puzzle put into action.

Apart from entangling religion with government, planting the seeds of a 21st century Holocaust, and prefiguring a generation of resentment towards yet another compromised demographic, this bill actually states it will create a state entity that picks out “qualified” Muslims to serve for government. Never would I wish such a fate on my enemy, but this particular demographic happens to be one to which I am affiliated.

We all like to think that lawmakers are these super-heroic type figures in the mold of our founding fathers. It looks nice, and maybe more importantly it feels nice too. Perched in cushioned seats above the House floor (while my friend and I were killing time because our Senator no-showed our appointment), the murals of 17th and 18th century Massachusetts founders hit me right in my patriotic bone. Only a city on a hill could make various overly stern, shifty immigrants stealing the natives’ land by way of legislation seem akin to a scene from The Ten Commandments. Though sitting and listening to Eldridge eloquently note the importance of this legislation triggered my spidey-sense slightly more acute.

The very nature of government is the management of land and resources. Sure, we could all quote Franklin and Jefferson and make ourselves believe that if we lied in the right way and at the right time, it’s alright as long as the record reflects what could (by coincidence I’m sure) conspicuously also improve one’s personal interests. Lobbying groups (like CAIR) deal in money, and they realize that the oil which keeps American Democracy turning makes votes seem like an afterthought. Whether you want to look at TRACE or GCB, the evidence-backed, ever-presence of corruption in government means that, if this legislation passes, we are essentially allowing one more group to fall into the decay of democratic socialism.

Keeping one’s humility is, it seems, a vital component of most belief systems. “Pride comes before the fall” is usually scoffed at unless, once again, those who have fallen from a perch recognize they were the ones who threw themselves down. Any type of lobbying event in our era, no matter the affiliation, seems riddled with people talking about how “proud” they are. “We are proud to be here, and I’m a proud, and we should all be proud, shouldn’t we?” Being such a keystone to a pious existence, we may have sages from long past banging on about the effects of boasting because they too knew the full story.

These matters can all be sorted and arranged (and arguably understood) on an elementary playground. Take certain kids, give them certain privileges, and watch the others become resentful and defiant. We are animals after all; but one of the curious habits of humans is that we can hold certain thoughts and make vocal noises which echo an opposing viewpoint. Could the Muslim Commission Bill be a hidden, Zionist agenda to destroy both America and Islam? Meh, why be conspiratorial? Politicians, given our physical and economic distance from them, always appear a little more knowing, and a little more aware of what our interests should be. Sen. Eldridge may only know what he’s told by his staff; since they seem to be the agent, while the officials play a more celebrity role.

Throughout the day I found it amusing that no one brought up the fact that our executive branch is playing whack-a-mole with immigrants at the moment, or how such governmental changes could be viewed from D.C. This, perhaps, is where “face value” comes into play, as this bill had undertones of being a means by which a certain subset of Massachusetts immigrants could be protected by state law. How confident I feel in state and federal government, when my tax money is essentially being used by one to thwart and upend the other. Saying “America is a nation of immigrants” might only matter if we also realize that the violence in Los Angeles is being perpetrated by many whose ancestors were immigrants themselves.

Ahmad Esfahani lives in Greenfield.