Citizen said: I , nor anyone AFAIK, is proposing America: The Prison. I favor walls where necessary with gates or checkpoints where all of legal status, permanent or temporary, enter and exit as they please. Our southern border warants increased security. ...
Sorry, but it sounds like it to me. I don't want to live in an America, or anyhwere, where we need walls to keep people in or out. If it ever came to needing such things...we have other methods at our disposal, like altering the terrain and electronic monitoring, etc. But, I will stand by my assertions and agree with the President; helping others become more responsible, creating a level playing field, and toning down our anti Mexican rhetoric will go a lot farther. I want people to see into our Country, to yearn, ache even, to be here, become a part of us. A wall only says..."we don't want you, we don't need you, we don't care about you". The reality couldn't be farther from the truth.
The illegal Mexicans that you see might not respect our laws, but neither do the illegal Russians, Chineese, or Haitians...we have shown them, by our collective actions, you don't need to. Just look at what the Dums have done to our Country, we are living in a society where a good liar is respected. Where a President can lie under oath, denying the civil rights of people who accuse him, and can get away with, possibly, murder. Why would a Mexican guy who only wants to earn a living give a crap about an immigration law? Unless we teach him to.
So, you don't think the EU is a formidable competitor? Ask boeing, or look at daimler-chrysler, or bayer, or commerze bank, or microsoft...I could on for about 20 lines here.
Competition doesn't come just from competing businesses, it comes from manipulation, also.
Re: Giving the hug...those ARE the terms I meant.
My solution is NOT like our current system. I think, maybe, I didn't explain it well. I was talking about resident status, not Citizenship. I want people to value just the privledge of being here, not only becoming a Citizen. It's no where close to what I was suggesting.
You really don't think the public is un-aware and uncaring? Just look at the polls. Most Americans think of Mexicans as sleazy, welfare receiving, non tax paying, scummers, who slip across the border in the middle of the night to steal. The reality is...I grew up in Los Angeles. That picture is not one that I found to be true. Are there abusers? Yup. The stats show the percentages of Americans vs non-Americans abusing the system is far greater...only one of the court's considerations in throwing out prop 187.
Perception is a very powerful tool. Just ask Terry McAuliff.
Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses...
America, the Land of the Free, the Home of the Brave!
...and let's keep it that way.
:O)
P
Interesting comments -- but we are so far apart it's virtually pointless to discuss it.
To you, a wall or fence means a prison for all. Alter the terrain? OK, we can have a visually pleasing impediment, an electronic impediment. What's the effective difference?
I see it every day, I try to talk to the guy cutting the grass out back at the office. He can't talk back. The guy on the street sees me as one thing: a possible source of money: Can I fix that fender? Cut your grass? Clean your gutters? That's all right, sort of, but here we have thousands of guys standing around at convenience stores every day waiting for someone to offer them a few bucks for work: They don't have a job...but they're here anyway.
Look, pal, the situation is out of control, you go kill 'em with kindness, I'll move on and try to effect some sensible policy for my country.
You encourage Pedro to learn the language, I will listen to what he has to say then. Only then. Assimilation has been the norm for immigrants for hundreds of years.