The President’s willingness to cram down a bill the collective throat of the American people for which there was no support did not help the mood of the general public. Yet is the vitriol of the previously reproduced email really the answer? While the writer’s frustration is evident – after all, in order to circulate an online petition that not only invites tampering by one person adding 50 names but that is also by and large ineffective since it is the individual congressional representatives who should be contacted by constituents, not the President, you have to be pretty ticked off – the wording of the message is troubling.
Implied is a xenophobia that provides no answers to the very real problems it brings up, while at the same time it discounts an entire segment of the population, namely legal permanent residents of the United States. Furthermore, while being unwilling to beat a dead horse until it is just a grease spot on the ground, it is a sad testament that to some the collapse of the school system, health care system, and also social security system are only fixable by eliminating a segment of the population that – although illegal – cannot solely be charged with the problems we are facing.
To this end, when you receive the next petition in your inbox – whether it is the one referenced, or another one suggesting that we throw open the doors to the country and make it a free-for-all – please think before you add your name and pass it on to anyone and everyone; is this really the way you want to see your country run? Have you considered the implications that a favorable reaction to your petition may have on all segments of the population, not just the one that you happen to be pigeonholed in? And – last but not least – is there a better way to get your point across to elected officials?
Perhaps you disagree with my take on this issue, and you think it is time for some harsh measures, whether this means open borders or a severe crack down on illegal immigrants. As always, I believe there is a third, and much more workable solution, namely the harsh crackdown on the CEOs of companies who benefit from the backbreaking labor that illegal immigrants are providing for a fraction of the salaries they could expect to receive if they had legal papers. Instead of having illegal immigrants in holding cells, it is the company CEO that should be held without a lawyer there to spring him. It is he who should be sentenced to prison for labor fraud. Furthermore, it is the harsh crack down on the unethical landlord who knowingly and determinedly rents a two-bedroom apartment to ten individuals, none of which have a valid state identification. Last but not least, it is the crack down on the underground hacker and paper maker who will sell false IDs and commit identity fraud for those with the money to pay. If law enforcement were focused on those individuals, it is highly unlikely that the illegal immigration epidemic would continue unabated – and perhaps it would ease the frustration of those who send out emails that some – such as yours truly – find somewhat offensive.
