From the vault, June 6, 1984 (revised):
Americans, rise up! The barbarians are at the gate!
Millions and millions of scruffy-looking, drug-addicted, sex-crazed criminals want our land, our resources, our money, and our women, and they will stop at nothing to pry it out of our cold, dead, hands.
But, wait! Our commander-in-chief has come to our rescue. He has declared a national emergency, has mobilized the troops, and has drawn a line in the sand, this far and no farther. Hoo-rah! Hoo-rah!
Are you sufficiently energized, dear reader? Do you need another pep talk?
Well, you ain’t gonna get it, at least not from me!
There is a national emergency in place for sure. There is a crisis at hand. It is centered around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.; and, if it isn’t dealt with, our democracy, already weakened by past actions, is lost.
Donald J. Trump is a spoiled brat. He was spoiled rotten by his father, and he has never had to take “no” for an answer, until now. Now, he has met no head on in the form of the new Congress, and he has thrown a hissy fit in response. He will build the Great Wall of Trump, using money from other Federal agencies in contravention of the Congress’ constitutional power of the purse, come hell or high water.
It is because some human beings, just like all human beings, are looking for better lives.
Philosophically, The Chas rejects the concept of national borders and advocates the free movement of peoples to wherever they choose. This has been the way since our ape-like ancestors first swung down from the trees, stood up on their hind legs, and wondered what was over the horizon. Since then, a continuous movement of humanity has taken place hither and yon. The motives have varied: Greener pastures, refuge from war and/or persecution, or simple curiosity.
Pragmatically, however, The Chas recognizes the problem of unlimited immigration. There is just so much space and resources available in any given locale; once they are exhausted, both indigenous and immigrant alike lose. Therefore, a rational program of measured inflow is needed.
Any sort of program, rational or otherwise, does not sit well with the jingoists among us whose petty jealousies cause them to think in terms of “us” and “them.” They have lost sight of what America originally meant, have forgotten what is inscribed upon the Statue of Liberty, and have turned their backs on the less fortunate of the world. Most decidedly, they conveniently have forgotten that they are descended from immigrants, legal or otherwise. Where would they be now if Native Americans had denied their ancestors entry to these shores?
To understand why illegals risk life and limb to come to America, falling prey to human sharks and suffering deprivation, injury, and death, we must examine what they are running away from to seek better lives: Grinding poverty, persecution, or domestic/gang violence are the commonest factors. Their countries and its resources are in the hands of elites who farm them out to calculating multi-national corporations seeking cheap labor, generous investment terms, little or no taxation, few or no labor laws, and loose export regulations. The multi-nationals take their profits across the border and leave nothing but empty promises.
Those who have nothing, have nothing to lose by coming here. So they come by the thousands and are met with persecution, injury, and death.
If it were possible for the United States to put the multi-nationals on a short leash, to provide a wide range of economic aid to the countries of the southern hemisphere, instead of unlimited military assistance, and to ensure real self-determination for the desperate poor, the desperate poor would have no reason to seek the promised land. The promised land would be in their own backyards.
What they don’t need is a wall, and neither do we. Walls don’t work and never have worked. History has demonstrated that, where there is a way, there is a will to bypass walls.
To paraphrase Ronald Reagan: “Mr. Trump, tear down that wall!” Or suffer the consequences.
Just a thought.