In Defeat, Victory; In Victory, Opportunity; In Opportunity, the Responsibility to Stand Up
The news of the defeat of the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” bill is a victory for America, certainly those who comprehend that what this Nation has accomplished in 231 years, compared to any other nation on earth in history, is something worth hanging on to.
For those who either have purely financial gain to gather from opening the floodgates of foreigners, or those who have effectively, by the penumbra right to privacy, aborted themselves to the brink of irrelevance in American politics, they actually see the defeat as a defeat. They do not understand the concept of America.
The Democrats wanted this to pass so they could present themselves, for the next several generations as “the party who granted you access to the ‘American Dream.'” This, of course, to a largely under-educated labor class, would sound great, and draw their loyalty to that party’s candidates.
Ironic sidebar: For a party that regularly campaigns for “equality” for all, this bill would have legitimized a sub-class of manual laboring peoples, that we need to do what the American’s won’t do. Consider how much of the need for this bill was portrayed in that light, then understand that there has become a subconscious caste system development in our collective psyche by this line of “reasoning.” Would “they” ever be allowed access to the American Dream, or would they be kept in enclaves to perform agricultural and hospitality industry jobs? What if they got “uppity” like the slaves in the 1800s and thought they were actually granted upwards mobility by the passage of such a bill as proposed and defeated? Would we then have to remind them we only brought them here to cut grass, pick oranges and change the sheets at our hotels?
Pardon me, but for all who supported this bill, would actually have been a great leap backwards, where a more “compassionate” form of slavery would have developed, but in this case, the modern days slaves are risking their lives to get here, as opposed to being run down by the Arabs or competing tribesmen to be sold to the WASPs.
The lies rolling out of the mouths of our politicians, who have become allergic to public discourse, are too many for mee to count. One that caught my attention several times over the last few weeks: “We can’t just go up to groups of ‘them’ and ask for their Green Cards.” Excuse me? Federal law says you have to have authorization to be here. When you are gathered, in the open (NOT IN THE SHADOWS!), awaiting work, why can’t you show your card? If you have it, then you get a job and not further hassles. If you don’t, then you are in violation of the law (a concept in our culture, in most areas, has become allergic to) and you have to deal with the consequences.
Ironic sidebar: It seems the illegal aliens received even more comprehensive civil rights, even before this entire debate, than did American citizens. I’m sure drug dealers would have liked not to have been stopped for “probable cause” circumstances, in parallel to the case of “probable cause” of groups of illegal aliens standing in the open in full violation of many local, state and Federal laws. I’m not advocating drug dealing, I’m using the issue of law enforcement being allowed to exercise their responsibility to exercise their duty to investigate suspicious activity.
Another striking lie: “It’s not amnesty.” Yes, there was a provision of a path to citizenship included, analogous to a constriction in a hose designed to throttle a flow. Good start. Problem: If, using a gross example of fluid dynamics, I set a sewer pipe sized component next to the small garden hose in the same flow of rushing water, both leading to the same place in the final reckoning, just where do you think the water will flow? Yep, straight into pipe “Z Visa.” No fines, no penalties, and, in many cases, you’ll not only be refunded all the taxes you paid, you most likely will qualify for a tax credit, as well, so you will forgo holding the money each week, but come the following summer, you’ll have a larger pile of cash as a reward. Think of it like an interest bearing account, courtesy of the American taxpayer.
Ironic sidebar: The press and others seem to get semi-apoplectic when they discuss the cash flow out of the US and into China. “THE TRADE DEFICIT!” they shriek. So what did the “Z Visa” do? Simple: You get to stay here, don’t have to become a citizen, and keep doing what you are doing now: Work, spend as little as you have to in the American “system,” and send the bulk of the money out of the US. Rape, economic style. Thank you “Big Business” and Democrats. Once more, a dichotomy exists as we tell our fellow citizens to buy American. look for the union label, and decry the shifting of work to foreign shores, then we say “Hey, come on down, we’ll pay you and you can take it home to your county!”
Check this out from “The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration:”
[…]
An article in the San Francisco Chronicle stated that Mexicans living in the U.S. send between $6 and $8 billion back to their families every year, making them the third-biggest legitimate force in the Mexican economy, after oil and tourism. Additionally, US taxpayers pay for all the direct and indirect costs of “housing” the Mexican illegal aliens. In essence, it’s an unofficial form of foreign aide. Mexico isn’t about to control its borders, since Mexicans fleeing their country for work in the U.S. send plenty of money back to their own country.While the $6-8 billion number is often quoted, a fairly recent story in The Brownsville Herald, Banks seek stake in billions sent home, notes that some estimates place the amount of dollars going south in 2006 will be $45 Billion, which was up from an estimated $30 Billion in 2004.
Regardless of the amount, all that money is leaving the US economy and not creating additional job opportunities here. Additionally, all that money represents jobs Americans used to have.
[…]
The net result of the above deficiencies are we would allow massive excusing of illegal acts, and absorb massive quantities of low paid, uneducated talent. At the same time, the bill would have reduced the number of well educated, high tech workers coming to the States. Many of those fully appreciate what the American Dream is and want to come, and on top of that, we need them here. Why? Because…
Ironic sidebar: Back in the early ’90s, the Airlie Council chartered a study, projecting the number of high tech job in the country and the number of high tech graduates projected. Guess what? One was climbing exponentially, and the other falling off a cliff. You guess which one is which. Add to that, India had established a national goal to become the best software engineers in the world and put the plan to work. Go figure why you see so many people of Indian heritage in top level positions in our IT and other technical related industries?
Enough of rehashing the past. My point today is the demonstrated voice of the American public, long thought to have developed laryngitis (something I’m sure the President, Senator Kennedy and McCain counted on), left the realm of the “Silent Majority” and spoke up. That is encouraging and actually, expected of this society. This voice can be put into play when issues of such significance arise, as it should be. Therein lies the opportunity: Using “The Voice” to let our elected representatives hear what we have to say, and ask their thoughtfully considered votes along those lines.
I’ve long been a person who looks at “situations,” and then devised a solution. Having reached that point, the long term strategy of reaching the “end game” begins. Tactically, much of the plan then is devised to come into play in phases, with the given that each step to the end is taken on the most direct path, while recognizing some temporary inefficiencies are required along the way. Those are to be kept to a minimum, but the key is to lay out the phased plan to get there, and ensure they are all interlocking pieces of the puzzle, and not a series of disjointed efforts that waste much. The elephant, as Dr. Deming taught, is to be eaten one bite at a time. The President and the Senate wanted to stuff the entire elephant in our mouths, while we slept.
Now that the text of the “Immigration Reform” bill is out to the general public, I submit the other half of “The Voice” is to not just say what we don’t like, but to now offer suggestions on how to take care of a significant National issue. That is our responsibility to stand up and be counted as not just complainers, but people concerned about moving forward intelligently.
I often considered, early in the run up to the current war, why President Clinton kept sending the FBI around to all the trouble the al-Qadea visited upon us, while President Bush was sending the military. The best answer to myself is one of their professional training: President Clinton was a lawyer by training and professional practice. President Bush was a business man. President Clinton see pretty much everything as crimes to be investigated, President Bush sees things outside or shores as military issues.
My point here is they are limited by their professional filters, as we all are, when working out plans of actions on any topic. I submit, however, when people of differing backgrounds get together, then far more coherent results are the outcome. The real bottom line: Congress is comprised of a vast majority of lawyers, with little other differentiation to bring other experience to the table. That’s where “we” come in.
Want to make a difference? Get a copy of the immigration bill, some strong coffee (or Red Bull) and go to it. When you see holes, omissions, etc, make a note and then consider how you would fix the noted issue. Draft up a letter to your Senators and representatives and let them know you have an idea and would like to help, attached for their consideration.
What an opportunity. We all have it. Why not exercise that part of “The Voice” now we have stabilized the situation?
Expanded opportunities lie in gathering groups of like minded problem solvers, in person or virtually, and blend an array of disciplines and backgrounds, then send a more detailed input into the system.
I used this in a post long ago about N.O.W., but it applies once more to us: (SU)3
And along the way, consider these words of Teddy Roosevelt, for they also, have a message for us today, in these times, in these circumstances.
Tracked back @: Yankee Sailor
Categories: Leadership, Political, Public Service
I like your stuff, even though i came here by accident!
by David on Dec 31, 2007 at 11:51 pm