I still believe that greed, lust for power and corruption on our side of the border is at the root of the problem.
Setting aside for a moment, the serious issue of criminal acts by illegals and the obnoxious rhetoric of "immigration activists" and Aztlan separatists, I must tell you that if I were some poor third world wretch, and gainful employment, with government services thrown in were dangled in front of me I'd probably do the same thing. The disgraceful behavior of the Mexican government comes as no surprise to me either. It's Mexico after all.
My anger and frustration over this issue sometimes causes me to say things I sometimes shouldn't say on an internet forum, so suffice to say I share many people's angst.
The problem we all go on so much about on FR would not exist the way it does if moneyed interests in our country, both commercial and political were not allowing it to continue.
You said in another post to me that the "illegals were a symptom like skin cancer from too much sun exposure." and in a sense I agree. But when I look at things that happen in my own country, particularly in our government, academia and business community I feel discouraged, and think that perhaps those illegals are merely scavengers come to feed on a rotting corpse.
I think we all feel discouraged. I grew up in the southwest. Most of the hispanic people I knew when I was growing up were indistinguishable from me. We shared a culture for the most part. Today of course it is much different, and I think the real anger over illegal immigration is the loss of the culture we grew up with, probably less so than any other factor.
Certainly we can place the lions share of the blame on our own leaders, who (as my Dad used to say) would sell their grandmother down the river for a vote or a dollar, the roots of the problem are many (and you have outlined them in your own post—and if we sat and thought a minute we could probably add others).
I cannot say for certain what I would do faced with the same situation as the poor of Mexico (and other countries to our south). I am certain, however, that I would be terribly grateful for the chance to change my life and I would not feel in the least bit loyal to the country or countrymen who gave me such a harsh life. I would not demand that the country that allowed me to survive and even thrive became like the hellhole I left. THIS, I think, is the crux of the problem. If illegal aliens from across our border wanted to become American, most people would probably at worst ignore them. While some *immigrants* undoubtedly do exactly that, many do the opposite. It has gotten to be too much for the average American. I am frankly surprised that it took this long, however I was probably aware of the problem, since I lived much closer to th border until recently, much early than many.
Thank you for civil discourse.
susie