OK. Today, I will delve for the first time, and hopefully for the last time, into a subject that I have been debating with myself (yes, with myself) and with Jan, and some others, for years: illegal immigration.
On one hand, I am convinced that the main difference between the USA and other countries in this hemisphere and, maybe, the world, is that this is nation of laws. The vast majorities of us appreciate, understand the need for, follow, and respect the law. When it comes to immigration, if you came here to visit and stayed beyond your pre-authorized term and are still here, you broke the law; you are here illegally. If you came here via ‘channels’ that did not require for you to have and show proper documentation (passports, visas, etc.) upon entering the country, you broke the law; you are here illegally. And I agree with Rick Santorum: those illegal acts, beget more illegal acts. If you are here without the proper documentation and are working, either your employer is breaking the law by paying you ‘under the table’ or you gave them an invalid or stolen SSN or otherwise illegally manufactured; in other words, more illegal acts. I my opinion you ought to be identified, rounded up, deported and then encouraged to come back through properly established channels.
On the other hand, these ‘illegals’ (heard on TV that it is estimated to be about 10 millions of them) do jobs that full red blooded Americans, either of African or European descent (whose ancestor, by the way, might have come into this country illegally as well!), are not about to stoop down to do. The ‘illegals’ cut your loans, they build your houses, they plant your forests, the harvest your crops. And, this last point is interesting because, if we sent all the ‘illegals’ back, we need to ask ourselves questions like: are we willing to pay $15 or $20 for a heard of lettuce, or $5 for an orange, or $20 for a pound of green peppers, all picked up in the fields by the hands of those “full red blooded Americans, either of African or European descent”? I don’t know the answer to this riddle, but some folks seem to have it very clear… But all this is something I’ve thought about and talked about almost every day, for years now, so there is not too much new on it, and I offer it only as general context and a hint into my mindset…
What prompted me to write about this subject is that, on the morning of Friday 09-MAR-2012, I heard on TV that, in Alabama, some of the provisions of a recently enacted Immigration Law mandate for schools to deny enrollment to children ‘suspected’ of not having the proper documentation; tough for teachers, principals and administrators to become Border Patrol also. If punishing children for the faults of their parents is the prevalent Alabaman culture, so be it, but it is contrary to the American ethos. Let’s remember that after WWII, instead of punishing them, we chose to help a whole generation of Germans children whose parents had been Nazis, and a whole generation of Japanese children whose parents had been Hirohito and Yamamoto supporters… But there was more: some other provisions of the same law make it illegal for hospitals to provide services and assistance to people who have no documentation showing they are here legally. Now, I have not yet researched the veracity of that assertion but, if it is true, God Damn it, we’ve gone too far! Does that mean that, if there is a car accident and an illegal alien is hurt (and weather they are from Guatemala, Ghana, Korea or Bosnia they are still HUMAN BEINGS) they are to be left unattended, or otherwise pay a fine for breaking the law? And these folks (whoever may be behind this atrocity) call themselves God-fearing people? What levels of hypocrisy does it take to go every Wednesday and Sunday to Church, or every Friday to the Synagogue, or every afternoon to the Mosque, to read from The Good Book, beat their chests, praise the Lord (whichever one they may choose to worship), vow to follow teachings of Mercy, Forgiveness, care for your fellow man, and then come out and be proud of “letting the Mexican bastard die like a ownerless dog!”?
Right now, the only good thing that comes to mind regarding Alabama is Forrest Gump!
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