Its the difference between viewing yourself as a legal entity, like a county, or seeing yourself as a people.
In a democracy, you share power with your neighbors. But for it to work, you limit it to those people who share the same essential cultural values you do. This is why we have citizenship rules to begin with. This is why foreigners are not allowed to vote. This is why felons are not allowed to vote. In a democracy you willingly share power with your neighbors, but not just anyone, not with people who don’t share your values, and not with people who have misused their citizenship.
Its good for a society to have some porosity, so that travelers can be received into your midst, and as they begin to assimilate and adopt your values as their own, they begin to have a say in how the society operates. But you can’t give power to people in large numbers who don’t share your values because you will lose your self-determination; you will lose your national independence from the inside out.
I chanced to view one Joy Behar last night on the television, She had on a panel of "experts" including one Joe Klein. They discussed the difference between the success of talk radio conservatives and the loss of Air America. The accusation was made that the conservative talk people always mentioned a vague threat out there. Sort of like a big daddy keeping people on edge.
Behar broke in again and again. She then used the word Xenophobia to describe those who are apprehensive about things. A figment of imagination on their part, no doubt, Joy thinks. I remember reading here of the carnage by illegals from Mexico even confining this to road safety and the unlicensed and uninsured drivers.
Nothing touches old Joy I suppose and Mr Joe Klein. Come one and come all seems to be their watchword. No justice, unless Joy runs into an illegal immigrant and is sued for millions.