We haven't had a real good discussion in while so I am going start a few.
There was some crazy stat out there that said only around 5% (I think) of US citizens have a passport. Here are my questions
1. Where have you traveled in the world and has this made a difference in how you look at the world? I have been to Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica twice, Scotland, Ireland, and New Zealand. I can honestly say that going to other countries and talking with the locals really has broaden my mind to how the world as a whole functions. That how our policies really do effect the entire world - and it does matter. Everyone I have met from the hotel owners in Costa Rica to our Irish B&B owner in Derry to teh kiwis in New Zealand all really do say that the image of the US has taken a huge hit over the past 7 years. This may not matter to some people, but it does matter to me.
2. Immigration - This could be a very lengthy discussion, but in as short a synopsis as you can give, where do you stand? My feeling is that there are currently (who knows really) around 15 million illegals in the US now. Because of 25+ years of failures these people have made it to the US and some have been working for 10,15,20 years. I say you accept that they have 'made it', ask them to come forward without the risk of being deported, have them pay a fine and back taxes if they need to and make them US citizens. I really don't know what other realistic option we have. There is no way to gather them all up and deport them - we can't pay for our police forces as is and the national guard is in Iraq. We can't put them all in jail. What do we do?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Well I'll throw my thoughts out there for you. I did a lot of travel in many different parts of the world before I was old enough to realize where I was and what I was doing so I don't count that. Since I have grown up my exposure to the outside world has been fairly minimal. I have been to Vancouver, Mexico (Tijuana, Rocky Point, Ensenada and an orphanage 30 miles inland form Ensenada) and Jamaica. I do not have a current passport because I have not needed one to go to any of those destinations and with the age of my kids have no plans to travel outside the continent in the near future.
I think the hit we have taken in the world perception is similar to the hit that the current administration is taking at home. We are not viewed as the country of the just any longer, in a lot of areas of the world. A big part of that is the Iraq war and this administrations position of with us or against us, black or white diplomacy. That is correctable by whoever assumes leadership in November.
The other factor is more difficult to overcome, the fact we are the lone superpower in the world makes us more powerful and more hated. In the past, if you disagreed with the way we chose to lead the world you had an alternative choice. When you looked at the choice Russia offered , you realized what we were doing was pretty fair. We were the lesser of two evils making us the good guy. Without another country to juxtapose our policies against, we are going to always look worse in the eyes of other nations. They can base their view on a few specific issues instead of looking at our world role as a whole.
As far as immigration, I am with Mitch in looking at the issue as a case of trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube. You cannot round up 25 years worth of illegal immigrants and treat them all equally. I think there has to be some sort of path to citizenship if you voluntarily come forward with a desire to follow that path within a limited time frame. If you choose not to, then you will be deported.
I think you need to re-enlist the police in the fight against illegal immigration. I have some friends that are cops in CA and they are not allowed to do anything if a person they are writing a ticket to or investigating turns out to be illegal. That person is released right back into the country even though we have found them. That is a ridiculous policy that needs to change, I don't know if that is just CA or the entire country.
I also believe in a technological fence across our borders instead of a symbolic one. I believe we have the resources and the technology to use motion detection and cameras to identify people crossing over and then use a small force of fast responding border patrol agents. It would allow fewer people to cover a larger area and increase the actual security of the nations borders.
Post a Comment