2007-6-29 05:19:00
Larry responds to my comments on Bill O'Reilly's plan:
"So I think you are quite wrong in this case in saying that "it wouldn't change much." This would change quite a bit, and for the better in my opinion. Moreover it could be doable and get broad support if Americans saw the government was serious about dealing with the illegal immigrants that are real criminals, and if real border security seemed achievable."
JJ:
Actually, what I said was "that alone wouldn't change much."
By "that alone" I meant his plan for granting Z visas, but as far as the whole package goes I think it would make a difference. It is probably the most effective plan out there that has gotten national attention. He said today that 87 percent of those responding to an online survey approved of it.
On the other hand, I do not think it would ever get through Congress. There are too many people courting the Spanish American vote that see future voters in the illegals.
The sad thing is that this wouldn't be a major problem now if immigration had been dealt with intelligently in the past. We have waited too long to deal with it but better late than never.
One of the problems we have with border security is there are many who advocate open (or near open) borders.
Their argument goes something like this.
"We are a nation of immigrants. Some of the early immigrants created problems and were not wanted yet we took them in. We are being hypocritical for not doing the same today."
This argument is very flawed for two reasons:
Now that the nation is full of people who are demanding many free services from government an influx of unskilled labor is not so desirable. A certain amount is needed and these should be controlled through legal measures.
Another thing we hear is that they are doing work that others we will not do. "Who's going to mow your lawn?" they ask.
Well, duh, a lot of people mow their own lawns and do their own gardens. We've had three different companies mow our law over the past ten years and they've all been white guys and they've all been reasonable. I wouldn't know who to call to get a Mexican to mow my lawn.
"But how about the fields and the orchards? Who is going to pick our fruit?"
The answer is that we have done this ourselves in the past and could do it again. I worked for six years picking fruit side by side with Mexicans from age 12 to 18. Back in those days about half the workers were white and half were Mexican. I got pretty good at it and was generally the fastest guy in the orchard. Usually the only time I got out picked was by a seasoned Mexican who had been at it for many years.
I made more money picking fruit than most of my friends with salaried jobs. We got paid by the pound and the more we picked the more we made. I bought all my own clothes, schoolbooks, hunting, fishing gear and other hobbies, a car, and some of my own food. If you figure inflation in I probably made around twenty dollars (USD) an hour. I was motivated though for my sister and I lived with our mom who worked for minimum wage, or picked fruit herself, and received no welfare or child support. If I didn't make money myself then I had none.
The only reason we do not see teenagers out in the fields today is that we have gotten soft and there are so many illegals that we just let them do it and give the kids an allowance for taking out the trash.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Notice the key phrase here is "yearning to breathe free." In the early days this country was an oasis of freedom in the world and we wanted immigrants who would support democracy, even if they were poor and downtrodden. We were building a nation out of wide open spaces and the desire to have and maintain freedom was the character trait most cherished.
Today the nation is built. We thus have to take another look at what we want in immigrants. The desire to breathe free always stands, but we need to continue to seek out immigrants with talent whether they be Mexicans, or other nations. Bill Gates tells us that the importing of talent is one of the main reasons for our current standard of living and if we do not continue to pursue it we could see a great decline. The poor and unskilled also can offer a great service but the number allowed in should be controlled to match the need for labor as well as national security.
The sane appear as strange to the mad as the mad to the sane.
Joe Orton (1933 - 1967)
Copyright © 2007 by J J Dewey, All Rights Reserved