Immigration

Four hundred years ago, Europeans came to America and began a very rare process: the creation of a brand new country from scratch. The existing population of native American tribes were pushed out, and colonists were pushed in. Those colonists weren't just anyone, picked up off the street. They were people who were motivated enough to take a dangerous ocean voyage in small sailing ships to a new land where they were going to have to build most everything they had.

For the next four hundred years, America became progressively easy to enter, but it still remained a nation viewed by much of the world as raw and uncultured. Those who wanted to reach America were interested in the opportunities of having their own land, of starting their own business, of pursuing that American notion of self-determination.

Because America was difficult to reach, only those people with the smarts, talent and determination reached America. The stay-at-home types did just that. They stayed at home. The ones who liked things the way they were in Europe stayed put. Those who were more willing to place their future in their own hands were the ones who chased the possibilities in America.

That has meant that America has been a filter of sorts. Most of the people who came to America were pursuing the future. They had a vision of what they could make out of their lives, and they pursued some dream that they had. Those are the people who made America the great nation that it is today.

There are many footnotes to be added here. America also has a whole culture of African Americans who were dragged into the nation as slaves. They didn't want to be here and now their descendants are with us as Americans. I see a disconnect between the descendants of the African slaves and the descendants of the Europeans who came over voluntarily, pursuing some dream. That same disconnect exists between the descendants of the African slaves and the Africans who came over of their own choice. The culture of America is built from the attitudes of people who are motivated to cross oceans to pursue dreams. The African slaves dragged over here wanted to stay in Africa. The intentions of the two groups is the source of the disconnect.

A similar disconnect exists between the current American culture and the remaining descendants of native Americans. They had a culture that worked for them. The European culture that morphed into the American culture was not their culture. It still isn't.

Such a disconnect will undoubtedly form as a result of the current flood of immigrants coming up from the south. Some number of those people are motivated according to the ethic that made America what it is today. But because of the relative ease of crossing the border, and because it involves breaking the standing laws of the land, the overall ethic of the people coming across the border is not a match with that of the existing population.

Mind you, I have nothing against any specific race. I have problems with those who act in ways that are contrary to the well-being of the community. Living on welfare due to sloth. Not taking full advantage of school. Free schooling, and still many do not take advantage of it. Declaring bankruptcy due to pure and simple overspending on discretionary items.

Those are just some pet peeves, but they represent counter-examples to the general notion that America works because people have been of a mind to make the most of themselves. those are the people that we want in America. Why do we want them? Because America is a kind of crucible of creativity. Great strides in every field of endeavor known to mankind have been made by the people of all the nations of the world who came to America, and those strides can only continue if every American can rely on every other American to do what is right. To do what is helpful and positive to the community.

When we consider the topic of immigration, we should be accepting as many top-notch applicants as we can, regardless of world quotas. People who want to help keep America an ethical, innovative and productive country are the people we want. I see hispanic men working their tails off on groundskeeping everywhere I go. I applaud that kind of work ethic, whether they are here illegally or not. Legality is an issue of will, and I have tried to point out that the will of America should be focused on the type of people we want in America - whether they are Americans or not.

For my money, there are a lot of people outside America who should be called Americans, and quite a few American citizens who just don't have the American ethic. Those who don't have the American ethic should go to a country that shares their ethic. They would undoubtedly be happier there. That, or they would change their attitude about the value of being a hard-working and honest American.

When debating the issue of immigration, stay focused on what it is that immigation is all about - finding people who share the traditional American ethic and can help us to be a better nation than we are.