The Hands that Built this Country
Every once in awhile I'll take a stab at the people who post things about immigration on Facebook.
(Sorry Cindy, you knew this would have to come up).
And it's such a hot button issue that I usually try and steer clear, but what gets me about most of the discussions is that we lose ourselves in half-thoughts on the subject, and the rights of real human beings are trampled upon.
Wanna' break it down?
Here comes the bleeding heart, right?
Well, sort of.
I think of the fact that the Fazzolari family is just a few generations removed from swinging over to the promised land. They say that in North Korea you must do hard labor for 12 years to enter the country. In Afghanistan, they shoot you.
What was America founded upon?
Give us your poor and downtrodden?
So lining people up and shooting them at the border because they want a better life seems undignified to me...strictly speaking as an American.
"They're taking all our jobs and going on our welfare system. They sneak across the line smuggling drugs and weapons. Dirty wetback sons-of-bitches."
I get all that, for sure...policies and procedures and particularly the welfare system need review and reworking.
Yet...what are the dangers of making such broad statements?
First off, it can't be entirely true. For every man sneaking over the border there are men who work their way in, work all their lives, and try to live the right way.
We don't hear much about them.
But perhaps, we don't want them here either.
Well, so glad they didn't shoot your ancestors at the border. Thank God you're the one making the choices now.
Remember the one word:
Dignity.
The issue should be all about that.
I've read a lot about this issue. It doesn't make me an expert by any means. It's a confusing problem, to be sure. This is our country, and we certainly should have some say on how or why someone is granted the privilege to enter and they should be sure to earn their way...
...as our ancestors did.
But if we wind up building a wall, or shooting them as they cross, or even spewing hate based on preconceived notions that may or may not be wrong, we are doing ourselves a huge disservice because we will have lost the number one thing this country was built on:
Dignity.
(Sorry Cindy, you knew this would have to come up).
And it's such a hot button issue that I usually try and steer clear, but what gets me about most of the discussions is that we lose ourselves in half-thoughts on the subject, and the rights of real human beings are trampled upon.
Wanna' break it down?
Here comes the bleeding heart, right?
Well, sort of.
I think of the fact that the Fazzolari family is just a few generations removed from swinging over to the promised land. They say that in North Korea you must do hard labor for 12 years to enter the country. In Afghanistan, they shoot you.
What was America founded upon?
Give us your poor and downtrodden?
So lining people up and shooting them at the border because they want a better life seems undignified to me...strictly speaking as an American.
"They're taking all our jobs and going on our welfare system. They sneak across the line smuggling drugs and weapons. Dirty wetback sons-of-bitches."
I get all that, for sure...policies and procedures and particularly the welfare system need review and reworking.
Yet...what are the dangers of making such broad statements?
First off, it can't be entirely true. For every man sneaking over the border there are men who work their way in, work all their lives, and try to live the right way.
We don't hear much about them.
But perhaps, we don't want them here either.
Well, so glad they didn't shoot your ancestors at the border. Thank God you're the one making the choices now.
Remember the one word:
Dignity.
The issue should be all about that.
I've read a lot about this issue. It doesn't make me an expert by any means. It's a confusing problem, to be sure. This is our country, and we certainly should have some say on how or why someone is granted the privilege to enter and they should be sure to earn their way...
...as our ancestors did.
But if we wind up building a wall, or shooting them as they cross, or even spewing hate based on preconceived notions that may or may not be wrong, we are doing ourselves a huge disservice because we will have lost the number one thing this country was built on:
Dignity.
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