North Star Writers Group

The streets are cleared. Our country survived. Back to work, I guess. Oddly enough, even after a day of massive nationwide protests which was vigorously covered by a ravenous media, I wouldn’t be surprised if most Americans still lack any sagacity about the situation.

“Let’s see here. Border security is apparently a problem. The United States seems interested in fixing it. This has angered the immigrants, so I guess that’s why they’re protesting.”

Media reports from around the nation did absolutely nothing to clarify the situation. We learned that 4,000 immigrants died trying to cross the border, that immigrants from Mexico feed their families, that they are not bad people, certainly not criminals, and entitled to the same human rights anyone else is. Okay. Can someone get to the point?

Well, let’s clarify. The purpose of the protest was to show that the U.S. economy would certainly be laid low without Mexican immigrant labor. Based on yesterday’s proceedings, the jury is probably still out on that one. The left-wing media assured us that our economy was clearly crippled. The right-wing talk shows (Limbaugh, Medved, Ingraham) stated with every confidence that the economy didn’t so much as flinch. It is laughable how certain everyone is, especially when they disagree.

I have a hunch that a day’s protest, even one that stretches across the nation and includes over one million people, is not going to bring the most powerful economy in the world to its knees. Maybe if a million workers called in sick for an entire week we’d have a better idea of the essentiality of Mexican immigrant labor.

Regardless, that was, ostensibly, the point the protestors were making. However, the more likely goal is to smudge the discrepancy between illegals and the legals with social gobbledygook in order to re-tap the seemingly inexhaustible well of America’s guilt.

“If all immigrants march together, it will suggest that there is no functional difference between those who got here by the book and those who cheated. They’re here. They’re not leaving. They do those lowly jobs that, we are told, Americans simply would never do. And by golly, the U.S. needs them.” But this is not the point. At best, it skirts it.

What should be incredibly obvious needs to be reiterated – “illegal” means not legal; against the law; cheating. Someone who commits an illegal act is, by definition, a criminal (not necessarily a bad person, but a criminal nonetheless).

The debate that is ricocheting off of every wall in Washington is about illegal immigrants, not legal immigrants. Somehow, the media has managed to amalgamate the two, and now very few people seem capable of forming a lucid opinion about either. There is a huge difference between legal and illegal immigrants. One requires strict monitoring. The other is, well, ILLEGAL. We can at least get that straight.

Imagine that every Mexican illegal immigrant was hard-working, contributed to our economy, gave money to the Red Cross and provided for their families who proceeded to become hard-workers who contributed to our economy and also supported charities. These are not bad people, but they are still breaking the law. This is not a moral debate. It is about protecting a nation. The definitions of a criminal and a bad person have nothing in common.

The point is that millions of immigrants have broken U.S. law. By showering this reality with buts – but they’re hard workers, but they have rights too, but they’re not bad people, but it would be impossibly difficult to either legalize or exile the illegals – we are debasing U.S. law, pronouncing it inconsequential, unimportant or, at the very least, outdated.

Consequently, our nation has proven itself impotent in its ability to control the border and to deal with criminals. On the basis of our country’s image alone, we have on our hands a troubling situation. The U.S. government is a lousy parent. Fear and inability to enforce the rules have created subjects who run wild without giving consequences a second thought. Has the government demonstrated any consequences for breaking this particular law? If so, it appears to have done a woeful job of instilling any concern in the minds of the 11 million illegals who succeeded the first million.

Let’s not forget that there are reasons for immigration laws. Our country has a language and a culture of its own. It is made up of centuries of immigrants who, while bringing their own countries’ flavors, have discovered a niche within the borders of a foundation laid 230 years ago. These borders are not defined by lines on maps, but by principles of freedom and equality. They are also defined by the English language. Our country wants people who will embrace our eclectic culture, our language and our principles. Without ensuring that immigrants meet these criteria, our country becomes vulnerable to not only the attacks of our enemies, but the assaults on the very pillars that have made our country so powerful. These are the reasons we must not allow this issue to be clouded by buts, bad governmental parenting, and nationwide protests that blur the point. While the solution may be unclear, it is essential that Americans understand the issues.

If the United States continues to accommodate anyone and everyone with a vote, to incessantly apologize for its past sins, and to hunch over in order to conceal its status as the greatest nation in the world, the descent from its current glory – yes, glory – is only a matter of time.

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