Greetings.
Been another eventful week as we have seen plenty of activity in our world. Threats to liberty abound, as always. Fortunately, so do liberty-loving patriots like yours truly and, presumably, those of you who read this blog.
This week, coverage of the ongoing crisis at the southern border of the United States has been continual. For those paying attention, towns all along our border with Mexico have been virtually overrun with immigrants as young as five years old. These children, we are told, are seeking nothing more than to be reunited with their parents and, as such, should be allowed in and not deported. On the other side of the ideological debate, angry calls for immediate deportation have been equally plenteous.
As with any major event, there has been no shortage of anger, opinions, protests, cable news interviews, and plenty of calls for government officials to "do something" in the wake of what has transpired. In particular, renewed and reinvigorated calls for increased border security abound, especially pertaining to building a "wall" along our southern border with Mexico. Arguments in favor of this, predictably enough, are usually infused with such terms as "national security," "safety," "economic health," and "eliminating welfare dependence."
How should those who value essential liberty respond to all of this? I suggest the following:
1) We should be compassionate. This nation was founded on limited government, but what often gets left out of the discussion is the fact that our founders sought limited government in part so that individuals and private enterprises could care for their neighbors according to their needs. Government cannot do this, so we, as sovereign individuals, must. Extending care and concern for these children is a moral imperative.
2) Building a fence is not the answer. It never has been. The only thing a tall fence will create is demand for slightly taller ladders. Granted, I speak hyperbolically here, but the principle is the same. Using government force to keep people out may solve the problem for a time. But it will not ultimately solve the problem long-term. People will find a way to get into the country regardless of how many armed guards and miles of fence are placed at the Mexican border.
3) Immigration reform should be simplified and should focus on knowing who is here and why. Lest we forget, we are a nation of immigrants. Our society was built by those searching for a better life than what they found in their native countries, very much like many of the immigrants who cross our borders today (to include, yes, SOME of those who do so illegally). Our immigration process should be simplified so that anyone who wants to come here, work, be productive, and contribute to society can do so without the specter of expired papers and possible deportation looming over them.
4) Welfare reform and government spending are ultimately the means to solve the border crisis. Let's not kid ourselves: our growing welfare state is what is attracting many (though certainly not all) immigrants here in the first place. While welfare and perpetual poverty are often inextricably linked here in America, many of those coming here illegally still see our system as a way out of the third-world hell-holes they are coming from. And thus, they are all too happy to cross the border illegally, live off of our system, and enjoy the benefits of "enhanced poverty," as it were. Making welfare as localized and limited as possible would disincentivize those whose aim is to be a life-long beneficiary of, and not a producer within, our society. It's time we got serious welfare reform and justice for the individual taxpayer.
As always, both conservatives and liberals are missing the point here. The solution is neither to "deport and militarize" our border, nor is it to perpetually provide a taxpayer-funded haven to those who have come here illegally. As with every other issue our nation faces, individual liberty, for the immigrant and for the taxpayer, should be front and center in finding a solution.
Praesant Libero!
-Warren Brisbane
No comments:
Post a Comment