Is the conservative movement divorcing President Bush as David Frum says? To me the divide is more disheartening than that. The divide is between the elites and the commoners. The commoners are now being told to stay in their place for daring to disagree.
Even if a citizen agrees with the President and Senate on it's convoluted proposals, I would think the contemptuous tone would worry them. These are elected leaders, after all, not the House of Lords with a monarch.
If, as Peggy Noonan recommends, the government would shut the border and get serious about that, first, the rest of the policies might be given serious consideration. But the government is not serious about border security which means it's not serious about sovereignty which means the War on Terror is a partial war, because the most important front on the war on terror is on America's border.
And those who disagree with amnesty are being vilified. The division now, is the conservative movement against everyone. As I've written before, this fight is about an economic principle: free markets, even free markets of people, supersedes everything. Cheap labor, President Bush believes, is what is fueling this economy. He is looking at the question one-sidedly, the side that suits him. He is ignoring the long-term consequences of an unassimilated underclass and the socialist mentality it brings with it. He is seeing the Italians and the Irish. And many Italians and Irish are seeing that too, when they look at the Mexican hoards within America.
There is one tiny difference: legal versus illegal immigrants.
Becoming an American has always been hard. Being a new immigrant has been often grueling and demeaning. New immigrants are hazed, if you will. There was a time in the past, when that difficulty was still worth it. Freedom was worth it. Today, thousands of legal immigrants still believe it's worth it. This bill presumes that illegal immigrants want to become legal. That is a disputable premise. In addition, where's the love for all the low income Americans struggling?
Becoming an American often meant being spectacular. As Charles Krauthammer notes, under the new bill, Albert Einstein wouldn't have been allowed into America. We will become a nation built on an "egalitarian" point system. Get enough points, you get in. I see more pay-offs and point padding in our future.
But no matter the result of immigration reform, I hope, like others, that agreeable disagreement will continue to the hallmark of the Right. It certainly isn't the Left. Submit or leave is the order of the day over there. I guess that's why the name calling--racist, un-American, nationalistic, etc.--bothers me. It is possible to love all races and classes and disagree with this legislation. While some kvetch about the "angry right", I might point out that the elitist naming calling smacks of the Left and that's, why that's un-American.
I live in Southern California, and this isn't a "conservative" or a Republican issue. Everyone I know regardless of party is against legalizing illegals. My very liberal sister and I disagree about everything, except this. It is basic common sense, law breakers must not be rewarded for law breaking.
ReplyDeleteI think about the ice dancer Tanith Belbin, she won a silver for the USA at the 06 winter Olympics. She qualified for the 02 Olympics but she wasn't yet a citizen. She almost missed the 06 Olympics but a last minute change in the law gave her citizenship. She waited for years to become a US citizen, obeyed every rule, paid every fee. Now we will say what a fool she was and put people who don't obey our laws in front of those who do? This goes against any sense of justice or equality. Line cutters don't get to ride Space Mountain, that's what is boils down to.
To me President Bush crossed a line by saying that all opponents of the bill were ignoring the welfare of the country.
ReplyDeleteThis is not true. I think he really believes what he says, which logically would lead us all to conclude that he is out of touch with reality.
The most important difference between Italian and Irish immigrants and these we speak of today is AN OCEAN. When those people came, they were making a real break and had the intent to become Americans. This is not true for many of the illegal immigrants in the country today. They want to work (not that I blame them), but they do not want to renounce their Mexican citizenship. Many have a life more fully on the other side of the border.
We Americans are still a free and a proud people. If we want to stay that way then we had better be ready to fight to keep what we have. We have enemies everywhere but it is the enemy within that is the greatest danger.
ReplyDeleteIs our government operating for the good of the country or for the large corporations and the elites?
Sometimes a policy is good for all but this immigration bill does not serve the short or long term interests of the people of the USA. It is not "compassionate" to throw away the sovereignity of your own people. I think it is stupid, or worse yet, sinister. Just where is it our "leaders" are planning to take us?
Melissa, I am looking for a post on energy exchange that you did over 1 1/2 years ago, I think. I was going to forward it to someone since this subject just came up with them.
ReplyDeleteWhen I type it in on search, only two come up but not the one I'm talking about. This post was quite extensive on the subject. Can you help me find it?
Thank you!