Migration

Putin made comments at the G 20 Summit Monday.  He asserted that migrant shifts in the world are wrong and hurt the people already living in their own nation. He claims it is unfair that newcomers arrive and consume resources, jobs and upset existing balances. He claimed that support for migration is mere propaganda created by elites in those nations. The elites are protected from ‘damage.’ The rest of the people are left to deal with rebalancing their lives, property, economic and social relations.


What a crock! And from him!


He does not speak of why the migration occurs in the first place. People living in abject poverty is one reason. Another is tyrannical leaders who kill, torture and abuse a class of people in their homeland; the victims choose to leave their homes for a safer, better life elsewhere. Almost any place will do. So, they grab some possession and their family members and set out to save their own lives.


This has happened in Libya. Syria. Sudan. Countless nations in Africa. South America, Central America, too; refugees from chaos. Refugees from despots, crime, poverty. Soullessness. They escape for anything better than what they have at home. Their very lives are threatened.


Putin knows this. So, do all the dictators. They seek wealth, land and power. They take it from the weak. They create the weak, so they can be strong. That’s what is happening in Syria. Lebanon. Egypt. So many Middle Eastern countries are bedeviled by these developments. Africa, too. All throughout Asia we witness similar happenings.


Even in nations at peace, despotic leaders create class warfare so their own people fight one another, choose ‘sides,’ and do the dirty work for the ‘leader.’ The haves and have nots; the educated and less educated; the super wealthy and the middle class; the poverty class versus the middle class.


Differences. Nationalities. Ethnicities. Ages. Genders. Gay. Straight. White. Black. Brown. Foreign language speaking. Differing customs, cuisines, attire.  Differences. You are not like me. I am better than you.


You are not allowed.


That is not liberal. That is not conservative. That is not communist, socialist, or any other ‘ist.’


That is discrimination. That is name calling. That is trouble making for another purpose. Putin knows the purpose. So, do other leaders who are not taking care of their own peoples. They are after something else. We know what it is: influence, power, wealth.


Are we really so dumb as to believe what Putin said?


America is a land of mixed nationalities and cultures. Always has been. People emigrated from their homes for something better. They came to America. They mixed with one another and built a nation. E Pluribus Unum. One from Many.


We intermarry. We have babies. We build melting pot social orders. We educate one another. We build industries and commerce. We earn our living. We propagate the land and produce wealth for our families. We welcome others to do the same. They refresh our stock of humanity. They bring new ideas, talents and skills.


Wisdom is not made in a vacuum; it is created through engagement of what is different.


That statement may be the secret of success of America. We break equilibrium to find a new, fresh equilibrium. Like the economy, equilibrium of price, value and commerce is a constantly moving statistic. It is always seeking balance, one second or minute at a time.


So, too, our social order, our society, our nation. Our peoples are all different, unique and free to find themselves. They refresh themselves. They reach out and achieve. They are in a social order that allows this and encourages it. Happiness, like success, is the product of hard work. America is a model of this.


Not perfect. Not always in perfect equilibrium, but always moving towards it. Natural rhythm. Each person engaged in their own journey toward their dream. Let it go? The dream evaporates, replaced by something else. Unhappy with that? Work toward a better solution.


If we follow Putin’s advice, we become insular, narrow and self-absorbed. And then we grumble about what we don’t have. The perfect soil to roil trouble. Sound familiar?


It should. This is tRump’s message. Over and over again. Replaying moments of victory from the past, does not make America great. What makes us great is we the people striving for something better for ourselves, our families and each other. That’s the greatness.


That’s why we celebrate the 4^th of July.


Question: are we singing from the same sheet of music? Or are we being divided by a con-man and his minions? Just how mis-leadable are we?


July 3, 2019