Who’s that knocking at my door?
Look at the picture I chose to accompany this post. What does it depict?
Obviously it is somebody standing on the other side of a door from you. But is it a friend wanting to come in and share a cup of coffee and the good news of the day, or is it a criminal who wants to rob you…or worse?
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A few years back I spent a lot of time researching our family genealogy. In doing so, I learned that most of my ancestors came to the new world before the American Revolution. Some came over on the Mayflower. Others were sent over as prisoners of war. Still others hiked across the Bering Strait. With the exception of those we now call Native Americans most of my ancestors could be considered immigrants. Annie doesn’t seem to have any Native American ancestors; most of hers came over in the early to mid-19th century. All of her progenitors were immigrants.
In these days of plans for a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, talk of an immigration ban from some countries, and stricter controls over émigré’s of all countries, there is much dissention among Americans.
I know there are some people who would support President Trump if he tried to ban baseball, hotdogs, and apple pie. I also know there are others who would disagree with him if he wanted to outlaw the flu. I’m not talking to any of those people as I’m pretty sure it’s a waste of my time and theirs.
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I don’t have anything against any particular race or religion. I’ve had friends from most races and many of the countries in question, and think our United States would be a lesser place if any of those friends had been prohibited from being here.
With a nod to all of my kids’ ancestors, and apologies to my Native American ancestors, I know that this country is great because of immigration. Our culture is rich because of all of them.
Looking back at history, we see that many Americans came here to escape persecution for religious, ethnic, or other reasons. In addition, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Chinese, and African immigrants have all been considered to be sub-, or at least lesser-humans by some of those who were already here, whether they came here voluntarily or not.
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As I understand it, the new regulations won’t intentionally keep any person from coming here legally. They may throw up roadblocks, and cause more time and expense, but nothing more.
The regulations are designed to try to prevent criminals and terrorists from gaining easy access to our country. How is that a bad thing?
We all know that, statistically, terrorists are more likely to come from certain countries and religions. If questioning and the requirement of documentation can help protect us all, even if it does cause more aggravation, it may just be a necessary evil.
As for “the wall” I understand that most of the Mexicans who cross the border illegally are just looking to improve life for their families, and most of them are good, honest, hard-working people. I have had at least one friend who was found to be an illegal alien and was deported.
Our country is a lesser place in his absence.
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But there is also a red flag there. Yes, I know that the vast majority of us knowingly “bend the law” now and then. Have you ever intentionally gone over the speed limit? Ever crossed the street in the middle of the block instead of walking all the way to the corner? But crossing into another country illegally is a little more serious than forgetting to run out and put another quarter in the parking meter.
If you think international boundaries are not taken seriously by other countries, try crossing the Tex-Mex border going south. The Mexican government treats it more seriously than ours does. Nearly every year we hear stories about hikers inadvertently crossing a poorly marked border overseas and being arrested. They are sometimes even treated like potential spies.
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Now, I want good, honest people to come to our country. We still have plenty of room and they could make valuable contributions to our society.
I’ve heard stories about how difficult it can be to immigrate legally, or to gain citizenship here the right way. Maybe we could find a way to streamline the process. I have no problem with that.
But, when somebody knocks at my house, I always look out the window before unlocking the door.
Why? Because I don’t mind letting the good guys in, but I want to keep the bad guys out.
Should we want any less for our country?
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