Borderline Disorder

Borderline Disorder

The new tactic by which a few Republican governors are calling attention to the border crisis involves dumping immigrants in strategic places, like Martha’s Vineyard. A brilliant move from a publicity standpoint, but if the immigrants were lied to about where they were being taken, that makes those governors human traffickers, plain and simple.

That said, we’ve been hearing about the immigration mess for decades, and almost nothing has been done to solve it. There has to be a middle ground between putting up border walls and letting only a few acceptable people in and having open borders where everyone gets in. Successive Congresses and presidential administrations have failed to work this out. I don’t know what the solution is, but it’s probably going to be expensive. So is doing nothing.

When you think about immigration on a broader scale, though, the line between “us” and “them” is pretty thin. Many of our ancestors were immigrants. Most of us here now didn’t have to fight for our citizenship. All we had to do is be born here. We aren’t better or more patriotic for that, we’re just lucky.

If it were up to me, those fortunate enough to be born here would get the first 21 years “free,” so to speak, but then would have to pass the same test that is administered to new immigrants seeking citizenship now. They would lose certain benefits of citizenship until they passed it. As an alternative, they could put in a certain amount of community service or enlist in the military.

The United States of America isn’t just a geographical area with borders. It’s an idea. People from outside want to come here because of what it represents, or what they believe it does, which typically involves a better life. It seems to me that everyone who lives here, whether born here or not, should have to demonstrate some buy-in.

My own idea may be one for future consideration. But right now, instead of using immigration as a political weapon, both parties have to begin a meaningful discussion about how to untangle the current system - and “system” is a generous word for it. It’s going to require what for some is an ugly word: compromise. Do we want to keep talking about immigration the same way forever, or do we want to fix it?

 

 

 

 

Be Careful With Family Heirlooms

 Being partly of Irish descent, I may get in trouble with some if I come off too positive about the British monarchy. But it is fair to say that many of us Americans have been fascinated with it for a long time.

We can hardly be blamed. Those of us of a certain age grew up learning as much, or even more, of British history than our own. But with British history, there is simply more of it.

I was taught in school, for example, that the Battle of Hastings was fought in 1066 and that King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215. Then there was Henry VIII and his penchant for beheading wives. Let’s not forget that if it weren’t for mad King George, there might not have been a revolution here and a United States of America today.

There are still monarchies all over the world. Not all royal families enjoy the wealth and status of the British one, but it is that one that is in our historical line. And Elizabeth II was Queen for the entire lives of many of us. I was fond of her partly because I collected stamps as a little boy, and her head was on those in use at the time.

All of this said, there is no question that the British monarchy is an undemocratic anachronism that a sizeable number of people, even in the UK itself, consider unnecessary, unfairly privileged, and too expensive. But I think most of us could agree that if Britain had to have a monarch, Elizabeth was just about the best one possible. We are hearing much about her devotion to duty from a young age, her genuine interest in people, her breadth of historical knowledge, and her sense of humor. And, of course, she was a “crazy dog lady” too.

But what happens now? Will Charles III be the last British monarch? Maybe that position will fall to William after him. The end will come, but it will only happen when the Brits are truly ready for it. Abruptly throwing out the monarchy would be like discarding a treasured family heirloom too soon. The surprise comes when survivors discover how much they miss it when it’s gone.

 

Romantic Deprivation

I guess I will never understand it – how people could be so devoted to Donald Trump that they would want to start another Civil War over him. I might be able to stretch and understand a revolutionary mindset, but hitching your wagon to THIS guy? For me, it doesn’t compute.

It seems we are all desperately trying to find something to blame for all the extremity dividing us these days. Social media? Video games? Gun manufacturers? Cults? Take your pick.

It’s my belief that all human beings need a little romantic stimulation. One popular comedian says that if only young men got a little (fill in the blank), school shootings, militias, even wars, would be things of the past. But it’s way beyond that narrow definition. We just seem to need to romanticize something, to have our souls stirred. That’s why apocalyptic  movies attract such large audiences. It’s always about the final glorious battle between light and darkness. The only problem is, we can’t agree on who controls which.

We need this stimulation mainly for escape. Real life is tough. Day-to-day existence is full of challenges and sometimes, it’s boring. Many people only think of how things could be, or used to be. A lot of them weren’t even there back in the so called good old days they yearn for.

The trouble with romanticizing is, it’s a giant cover-up much of the time. A beautiful garden can take our breath away, but we don’t know how many gardeners it took working in dirt to get rid of the pests that would destroy those lovely plants.  

Some people glorify the idea of a Civil War, like our last great internal military struggle. But all we have to do is look at a few Matthew Brady photos of the rows of corpses on historic battlefields to see what it cost.

Just for the record, I don’t believe Senator Lindsey Graham was actually calling for “riots in the street,” he was just offering an opinion of what would happen if Mr. Trump were prosecuted for mishandling classified documents, but his comment certainly wasn’t helpful either. As for Civil War, I hope the federal government is at least silently preparing for it, unlikely though it may seem now. And for those who think they will enjoy some blaze of patriotic glory after starting one, I would recommend, as I have said before, that they check their history books – those that haven’t been banned yet – and consider how the last Civil War came out.