What's the Dream Today?
I grew up believing that the U.S. is a melting-pot. A place where people from different places and cultures, of different skin colors came together. A people whose identity lay not in clan, tribe or race; but in our shared belief in some core principles: That all men are created equal and endowed by our Creator with "certain unalienable rights". My parents and teachers affirmed that what made me American was my buy-in to a common culture valuing liberty, duty, and advancement on merit.
This dream of America, was still evolving - painfully at times - even in the 1960s. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream, "that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. " was within sight if only we'd keep marching.
King clarified the context of his dream. "It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream."
The signs in the march supporting illegal immigrants here in Phoenix show a group of people whose dream isn't rooted in the American dream, but in something else entirely. Those signs reflected the antithesis of Dr. King's dream, and the American dream. They glorified Aztlan, Chicanos, and "La Raza". These are all terms of division, of sub-group identification based on skin-color, declaring a rejection of a shared, American dream. The focus of the protesters is on skin-color, on the mythical pre-historic Eden called Aztlan in Chicano folklore.
I ask this: Hasn't the American dream, with it's flaws, served to preserve and protect the dignity of more human beings than any other set of core values? What is the Aztlan dream? What great ideas does it offer to unite and serve a people?
Friends, Aztlan is a train wreck. It's a mythology embraced by intellectually mush-minded multiculturalists. It melds Aztec folklore of a nebulous pre-historic motherland with a sense of Mexican national victimhood regarding territory sold and ceded to the U.S. by the government of Mexico- no friend itself to Aztlan, having been established as a one-time European colony, "stealing" the territory from native people as U.S. acquisitions from Mexico via legal treaty in 1846 never did. Got an axe to grind? March on Mexico City.
If the condition of Mexico today reflects Aztlan's core principles, what does that tell us? Anyone want to move south to get in on that dream? Oh, come on, crippling poverty, rampant corruption, squalor and intestinal parasites aren't your bag? Ahh, yes, we've come to the whole point. Aztlan offers no hope. People are flooding out of that nasty neverland and into America, a place created by a set of values that actually work - offering hope, liberty, and jobs.
America has room for legal immigration, but please, please, leave your Aztlan at the door, we've got something better cooking here, and you won't need to wash it down with a course of antibiotics.
Dr. King admonished, "In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred." The throngs in Phoenix, Denver, L.A. and other cities didn't just drink from the cup, they're bombed on bitterness.
Finally, Martin painted a vision of hope, "With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day." The protesters this spring had nothing comparable, no positive vision at all. That isn't the America I know.
Today, I say, "Come, legally, to our country. Learn our language out of the same respect for other people's nation and culture I had on a one-week visit to Italy. Let's work, pray, struggle, and stand up TOGETHER, as we pursue the AMERICAN dream (legally).
Links
- Acton Institute (Religion & Liberty)
- Anchoress, The
- Iraq reporter Michael Yon
- Black Five
- Charles Krauthammer
- Choices in Education
- Dennis Prager
- Econ. Freedom Index
- Family Facts
- Few Shiny Pebbles
- Find Your Representatives
- Founders' Almanac
- Hugh Hewitt Blog
- Imprimis
- Mark Steyn
- Michael Fumento
- Peggy Noonan
- Positive Effects of Marriage
- Social Security Reform
- Walter Williams
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22 comments:
you are a very good writer, squawpeak. and this was a good post. thank you.
i am personally very disappointed in people's unwillingness to see how incredibly insulting (at the least) illegal immigration is to legal citizens, particularly legal citizens who were once immigrants themselves.
i also think that you are right, and it is not the american dream that lots of people who come here are after. what they come here for is a better life, economically. that is not quite the same thing.
GrackyFrogg, thanks. The comments I've heard from legal immigrants do reflect frustration.
The system certainly needs work. We (my small company) worked to get a great potential new American through the legal process. TWO YEARS later, he was denied ability to work here and deported. Meanwhile, all over Phoenix, everyday, he sees people flouting our laws with no consequence. Time for reform.
"Aztlan offers no hope"
And this is too often the problem in many other places going through your mind as you read this.
No hope in this lifetime.
Nice post.
You are young and I am officially old now, but my sentiments are the same as yours. I thought we had lost the compass.
It appears you have found it and are pointing it in the direction our country needs to go, respecting diversity and at the same time the homogeneity that makes us unique. Assimilation isn't easy, but it is as necessary
as is maintaining a lawful nation with lawfully established borders.
The thoughts that crossed my mind last week on St. Patrick's Day
reflected the pain of sacrifice my
ancestors faced, moving from Ireland to this rough, unfamiliar place.
Giving up status, possessions,
certainty and friends, they found a hard life here, not just their
daily labor but conscription into the army during the Civil War.
They lost several children to epidemics. In order to worship freely, they brought their dreams and made a new life. They didn't have to give up their Irishness, only had to pledge their loyalty to a great, free nation.
Good post Squawpeak. I've never seen this approach before. Yet another original view!
Good post. It's hard to imagine all the uproar over this issue when you are kinda insulated here in fly-over country. I think our country is reaping the ill effects of poor leadership on the immigration issue, not to mention there are just too many dumb folks who would rather get their brains sucked dry by the TV instead of showing interest and concern for something like national patriotism.
And don't forget the fear! I've talked to several people about attending the "Day of Action" demonstrations this evening, and every single one stated that they would, but they felt that they would be so outnumbered, that they wouldn't get home tonight (or ever).
Our entire country is being intimidated by the illegals, and noone in any part of leadership is stepping up to show that we are not the type to be intimidated.
Great post! I think it is sad to consider what conditions my livelihood would have to endure to spur me to move to a country where I knew little of the culture or language. That said, it is still difficult for me to comprehend how a person could be okay with living in a country illegally, and even raising children. What kind of aspirations and future are they giving them?
It just doesn't seem that difficult a concept that a person would seek to gain legal status in a country that could in turn offer them and their children such hope.
Our grandparents and great-grandparents did it...and it seems to have worked.
thanks for your comment re: my future graduate work. i appreciate the vote of confidence, very much!! :)
Hi squawpeak! I always like your writing and well thought out posts.
I completely understand your view...I was born and bred in Denver and was very weary of the Chicanos I came to deal with. However, I have lived so many places in this great nation of ours that I also noticed the marches in cities around here where most of what you could see in the waves of people were American flags and the most common sign "I love America, too!" I just feel the problem is too large scale to round em up and head em out. I think George Bush has a better plan...guess I'm in a minority. If it were still possible to get legal status to come here, I would view the "illegals" in a much different light.
Some of my ancestors were the first English speaking people in the state of Maine in the 1630's and I can't take the noble stance of "they came here to worship freely". They were adventurers who came here for a better financial life.... they were Quakers who the Puritans hated and whipped through the streets. Very few of those who came, came strictly for religious purposes. I would say a Pakistani Christian family today would be more in that category than 99% of early American immigrants. But people still can comfort themselves with that, I guess, but the written history doesn't confirm it. I don't see the immigrants today as being much different than those of the past. I think it is only human to want something better for your descendants if you hail from a poverty stricken country.
I write this only from a human stand point and a hope that this very large group of people are not all lumped together as if they have the same soul. I understand the problem is huge. I understand we must act upon it. I just hope and pray for the good ones, that we can solve it in a very humane and kind way. "Give me your tired, your poor..."
If assimmilation is the concern, why doesn't anyone have a problem when the Irish wave their flags during St. Patrick's Day, or the Italian neighborhoods have the Italian flag on every corner (e.g. San Francisco, Boston)?
Along the lines of Jedati's humanist perspective, you really must ask what would motivate someone to leave their country, culture, family, friends and everything comfortable behind - if things weren't so bleak in Mexico, they wouldn't risk life and limb to come here.
In addition, if American companies did not willingly hire them, they wouldn't have any reason to think things would be better for them here. Why are Mexicans from Mexico rebuilding New Orleans?
In any event, we should be thanking the illegals. They are the reason houses are affordably built, why our produce is affordable and readily available, why our offices are cleaned every night without fail, etc.
Watch what you wish for. If they are all shipped back, we are all going to pay for it with strawberries for $10-$15 per pound.
Until lazy Whites and Blacks come running up to my car when I go to Home Depot, I fully support the illegals because they seem to be the only people in America who are willing to put in a hard day's work. That is the real meaning od the American dream and they are the only ones hungry enough to still work for it.
II, thanks for stopping by, and the thoughtful post.
A couple things that strike me in hearing you & Jedati's posts.
Yes, things must be horrific in Mexico to push 12-20 million Mexicans out (why don't those 12 million expend some of their plentiful effort on reforming Mexico?). Yes, they provide a lot of "affordable" labor (massively expanding the labor pool, and by economic consequence, driving down the price of labor). Yes, there are American companies creating demand for illegals by hiring them (I'm firmly behind enforcing the laws dealing with this too.)
Some other inconvenient truths are: The flood of illegal immigration robs ALL children, legal or otherwise, of the education they should have by overtaxing limited school resources. Ditto hospital emergency rooms.
More truth: We have millions more in line for legal entry into the country. Granting amnesty to those who have broken the laws sends a terrible message.
And finally...you suggest we should be thanking illegals. Quid pro quo. They should be thanking us for the opportunity, the economy, the safe drinking water, the public education, the health-care, and for not enforcing the laws that would have them all back in their home countries if enforced.
There is an exchange going on, and I dare say they need us at least as much as we need them. I find the "we'll show you" approach offensive, divisive, and very un-American. If you really want to be an American, act like it and drop the "us" versus "them" mentality.
Lest anyone be tempted to throw "jinigoist", "xenophobe", or some such tag my way, there is a three-pronged problem: 1) a broken legal immigratin process (I know a legal status landscape contractor who has been working for 8 years to become a citizen) 2) Illegal entrants to the country (a felony NOW in Mexico ;)) 3) American companies profiting from the cheaper illegal labor pool (and breaking the law).
Instead of the approach that "they're breaking the law too...let's call it even", it's time to acknowledge the two tangoing and deal with both instances of law breaking, along with reform of a broken immigratino system.
You are absolutely right that it is a 2-way street. But I still don't get what the panic is all about.
You ask what message is it going to send if they are legalized as if I am supposed to intuit the answer. Please tell me what the message is, to whom it will be sent and why it matters. The people standing in line for legal immigration will get upset? So what? What difference does that make? Nothing! They are still going to stand in line and like it.
There are many in America who break the law with no apologies. Our government urinates all over the Constitution and I am supposed to worry about an illegal who is trying to make a living. Sorry, there are bigger problems in America and scapegoating illegals isn't going to fix them.
Illegals aren't the reason kids aren't getting the education they deserve. Parents are. I am a mentor to an inner city teenager and illegals are not the reason the students in her school will graduate an abundance of illiterate nitwhits. Poor diets, neglectful parents and a culture of violence and sex have a much greater impact on the education of our youth. It's not my mentee's overcrowded classroom as much as it 15-year-olds trying to have sex that is incredibly distracting. Scapegoating illegals will not fix the fundamental lack of respect for education that is now an epidemic in America.
Hospitals. Much of my family is in the medical profession and none of them will blame the decline in the quality of medical care on illegals. They blame it on the commoditization of healthcare, the bottomline, the lack of affordable health insurance, the entire structure. Again, scapegoating illegals is not the problem.
Yes, illegals get opportunity and all that jazz here but, if you read the history of politics and economics of Mexico and what American agribusiness has done to their country, the least we can do is give the poor people a job cleaning toilets. As if that is even enough.
II adds, "Please tell me what the message is, to whom it will be sent and why it matters. The people standing in line for legal immigration will get upset? So what?"
The message is, cutting in line is fine, in fact we'll reward those who cut in line. It will be sent to both those cutting, and those now standing BEHIND them.
Why it matters: While there are historical examples of unpunished law-breaking, it is the exception, not the rule. A large part of American Exceptionalism rests on a firm foundation of rule-of-law. Most cultures, nations and societies aren't disciplined enough to uphold the law consistently, and they are lesser for it - their people continue to head for America, in trickles and floods.
As to the "so what?" question - GrackyFrogg, care to take that one?
II, I'm honestly not familiar with your reference to the economic/political history of Mexico that stands as an unpaid debt of the U.S.. Can you elaborate?
On both schools & healthcare, I grant you your points. On top of those points though, there are limited education dollars. When we flood schools in the Southwest with people who don't speak the language, then force the schools to spend dollars from the limited pool of funds on ESL, it certainly does impact citizens' education.
Likewise, ever sat as a patient in the ER with a real emergency and seen the seats filled with illegals there for free consults on runny noses? I have here in Phoenix, and again, we have a limited amount of time of ER staff being frittered away by non-emergencies. You point out other problems with healtcare, which only adds to the list, not negating my point.
Grackyfrogg doesn't need to take the point. My parents are immigrants (now citizens) and not all legal immigrants are moping over the fact that others cut in line. The politics of immigration are different for each country.
It's funny how much complaining about illegals I hear from people in AZ. I'm from LA, but why isn't it as big of a deal to us?
How do you know that the people in the ER with you were illegals? How do you know they were only there for runny noses? A family friend is an ER doctor in Phoenix. His complaint is not that the illegals keep him too busy at the expense of treating non-illegals, but that he makes little or no money from treating them. My joking response to him is that the cost savings he gets on produce and contract work on his house should make it even.
You complain that schools spend money on ESL for illegals, but don't you think we would still have ESL without illegals? There are still plenty of Mexicans here legally whose kids are in ESL classes. I am waiting for you to give me data as to how the cost of ESL specifically attributable to educating illegals is cutting into the education of Americans.
A bit about what's going on in Mexico that directly hurts Mexicans and benefits Americans -
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1995/01/schrader.html
http://www.citizen.org/documents/NAFTA_10_mexico.pdf
http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/bwi-wto/wto/2003/0303mexi.htm
http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2003/1103wise.html
i think you answered the "so what" question already, squawpeak, and much better than i could, by explaining why it matters. saying "so what?" in the face of legal immigrants is insulting. it's like saying, "we don't care that you were law-abiding and went through the due process." why DON'T we care? shouldn't we?
if the issue is that we don't care because the immigration laws are bad to begin with and need reform (and i would agree that reform is needed), well, that is a different thing. in that case, we should certainly care about reforming them, but not about upholding or defending people's right to BREAK them. how does that solve anything? (and since when do people have the "right" to break laws?)
i admit that i feel more conflicted myself over the whole issue, as i've given more thought to it the past couple weeks. i can see why people come here, and i can see the ways i benefit from their work. i can see the two sides to the question, yes. but i keep coming back to this point--there are still laws in place. is it right to just flout them and then argue that it's justified? if it is, then what is the point of having any laws at all?
i saw a photo on a news site of someone holding a sign that said "human beings are not illegal." no, but they do things that are. why is that distinction not appropriate here?
the issue is being clouded with alot of emotionally driven rhetoric, to the point where anyone who is anti-ILLEGAL immigration is somehow made out to be anti-IMMIGRANT, period. which is as appalling as it is offensive.
the bottom line really is that illegal immigration is an issue that (like many issues) should have been addressed a long time ago. but in typical fashion, politicians wait til the crisis is upon them, and then they have to scramble to find a woefully inadequate Band-Aid for the gaping hole in the Hoover Dam. sigh...
Gracky,
Since I am a lawyer, I can appreciate the sanctity of the law and all that jazz. But there is the very human side of it too. I have seen firsthand where laws create injustice and, thus, I do not believe laws are holy in and of themselves.
Yes there are laws that need to be obeyed, but I think it is unfair and unjust to assess harsh penalties for victimless crimes. Illegal immigration is something that benefits us all and I do not believe the arguments that it harms our society. Indeed, I would bet we get much more benefit than detriment.
You say it's been a problem and the politicians waited until it became a crisis, but who says it's a crisis? The media? Could it be that it is an election year and our incompetent leaders need a non-issue to razz the masses so they won't pay attention to the true damage our inept leadership has done. The 11 million illegals didn't get here overnight, but now that Congress and the President are being shown to be the thieves they really are, all of a sudden it's a crisis? I don't buy it.
II, I read the Global Policy linked article, thanks.
Maybe I'm missing something here, but it sounds like supporting domestic agriculture is one more way the Mexican government is failing it's own citizens. If the U.S. and E.U. choose to support their domestic farmers with subsidies, why doesn't Mexico get a clue? Aren't both the U.S. and E.U. systems functioning more efficiently and effectively than Mexico?
Many U.S. farmers have historically been in the plight of Mexico's campesinos. Times change, technology changes. Those who can adapt and learn succeed. Those stuck in the past fail. It can be sad, and the human side of it deserves (and has my) compassion.
Still, Mexico and her people will be much better off as they wean themselves with their love-affair with socialism. Open the country, allow U.S. citizens to own property as Mexicans can in the U.S., spend some money developing infrastructure (as the U.S. did in the 30s with WPA, CCC; and in the 50s with the interstate highways).
Agribusiness and farm subsidies of course have some effect, but Mexico is Mexico's own worst enemy. When they get serious about reform, developing their resources and economy, much will change - and they can do it anytime, instead of wishing U.S. farm subsidies would change.
Here is a great article that pretty much sums up the absurdity of this issue.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/walker/walker19.html
Gotta love the libertarians for making things clear.
II, thanks for the Lew Rockwell article. Well written, informative AND entertaining at the same time.
I especially liked the Friedman quote.
In seriousness, while the points are good, Rockwell missed one thing. There is a difference between "open borders" among our United States, and between the U.S. and Mexico, two sovereign nations which do not share an umbrella constitution and the requirement that each state's laws must be congruous with the joint constitution.
Were Mexico willing to enter such a pact, I would be very interested (their more family-oriented culture and work ethic married with our ability to raise capital, organize & develop economies would be quite something). I think the best thing that could happen to the state of Sonora, for example, would be to join as the 51st state of the U.S..
As it stands today, it is a felony for me to take up residence in Mexico illegally. That is their right as a sovereign nation. We too have our rules and culture, deserving as much respect as anyone else.
The nutshell of it for me is, legal immigration is great, it has worked. I don't harbor blind fear of "the other", but also think there is more to our great nation than economics (call me a silly romantic) there are principles, there is our Constitution (a great example, rarely if ever equaled) and there is our amalgam culture.
Never before that I am aware has such a large group of people of one nation/culture/language descended on the U.S., at a time when technology allowed them to be catered to outside our common culture (e.g. Spanish-language media) on the scale we see today. It matters, and I think the catering retards the rate of assimilation into the American family.
I understand your point. I really do and I do not disagree entirely. Our positions overlap to an extent, but we prioritize things differently. Assuming I understand you correctly, you prioritize the rule of law and respect for it, which I 100% appreciate.
For me, that's lower on the list than the fundamental inhumanity of criminalizing people who come here for a hard day's work. That is far more worthy of respect than the law in my book.
If the U.S. and Mexico could work out an agreement where Mexico sends us their hard workers (as they do now) and we send them our lazy-ass welfare-collecting losers, it would be a win-win for both sides. Uh, maybe not for Mexico. :-)
By the way, I've enjoyed the discussion. It's rare to find articulate, intelligent and sane voices in the blogosphere and, so far, you seem to fit all three. I look forward to disagreeing with you again. :-)
II, thanks for the discussion. I enjoyed it as well (and the thread I joined on your blog).
That trade you mentioned in your last comment...I'd take that deal all day long :)
See you around.
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