A is for...

A.

A is for America.

A is for Arizona.

A is for Are we really wanting to go there? I mean “Welcome to Arizona, may I see your papers please?” Sounds familiar… “Paper please!” Like a quote from a movie… “Papers!” What was it? Oh! That’s right! EVERY World War 2 movie ever made! It’s a return to 1940’s Germany! How is this OK, when people were so angry about racial profiling?


(Slow exhale.) If only we could recall the inscription on the Statue of Liberty...
"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."
Seems like lately we've tried to amend that with the disclaimer "unless you have brown skin." We whine about the anti-American sentiment abroad, yet we become increasingly intolerant, racist and xenophobic.

Why can’t we just let them come here and work, legally? Make it easier for those who want it, to get citizenship, resident status, or at least work visas. If they're legal and in the system, paying taxes with the rest of us, what's the problem? They don’t speak English? That is true, unlike all our ancestors who came through Ellis Island. Wait…

Of course, the crazy thing is, we may not want to get rid of illegal immigrants at all... No one wants to step back and look at the danger this kind of hysteria could cause. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, I'm saying that the existing laws are often ignored for a reason. If the big companies that use illegal labor were forced to use legal labor, they would have to pay minimum wage. Way more than they pay the immigrants (who won't complain because they don't want to be deported). Paying more for labor means charging more for the products they produce. Let's look at a big one. Food. Many of the illegal immigrants are migrant workers, harvesting food and processing meat (recent INS raids at the meat plant in Cache Valley). Do we really want the price of food going up in this economy?

So, now Arizona has become a big target. So big that people forget how many illegal aliens float into Florida, or stow-away into coastal port cities. It helps people ignore the fact that the US/Canadian border is much longer than our border with Mexico. Do they honestly think that criminals and terrorists don't know that? Or is it more likely, that while the focus is on the south, they'll use the north? Fact is, we're a big country. We have thousands of miles of border. We can only do so much. The most successful example of what many in this country are now calling for was the Berlin Wall. It wasn't popular either, and it didn't last...

Make it easier to be here legally, and the flow of illegal immigrants dramatically decreases. This makes it harder for the cartels, terrorists, etc. to blend in with the crowd. It means the resources we employ along the borders are more likely to catch criminals, than decent people trying to make a better life for their families.

Finally (yes, I know I'm long-winded) I would just encourage us all to give this some serious thought. Don't get swept up in the hype that is all emotion, with little understanding. If we forward provocative emails, jump on emotional bandwagons, etc. people could easily think we're just racist. The reason this whole issue seems scary, is because fear is the prime emotion that get's people moving. That's why Rush, Hannity, Beck, and the other hate-mongers make millions of dollars! They offer no solutions, they simply breed fear, anger, hate and contention.

Side note: Personally I don't get Glenn Beck. At the very least I find him, in particular, ironic. So many Mormons fawn all over Glenn Beck. They just love him. These same Mormons spend a lot of time talking about how "fear is the opposite of hope," and how Satan is the "father of contention," and how hate and contention are bad. Are they really that blind? I don't get it... K, back to my post.

To conclude, I think nothing but good can come from a little more thought before rash actions. Of course we all (OK, maybe not the atheists) want God to "Bless America," but do we really believe that He can only bless us by not blessing other nations? Can't He bless all nations? If we don't want Him to bless the cruel and corrupt, can we really expect Him to bless our country when the leadership is corrupt, the populace divided, and those most in need are overlooked?

As for me? I’m with tiny Tim. “God bless us, every one.”