I am writing this on Friday, August 4th. I am
posting it today, Monday, August 7th. I will re-edit it before
publishing it. It will be interesting to see what occurs today and over the
weekend that might change the message! [Nothing to change!]
Yes. News forms quickly and impacts each of us differently.
Interesting dynamic abroad in our land these days. Used to be if we knew the
characters involved we understood the news as it unfolded; not so today. None
of us know the characters it seems.
Therein lies the uniqueness of our times. Think back on your
experiences with governments, policies, political issues, personalities and all
of that; think back hard, now. Some of you are too young to have much memory on
these matters, but many of us do.
I’m one of those people who has always been interested in
public policy and its formation. Not an easy subject to understand; on the
surface it seems easy, but once you delve below the surface the rocky shoals
appear and loom large. Navigating among them toward a safe landing is
difficult. Try it some time and you will quickly learn the lesson of which I
write.
That experience informed me long ago that political rhetoric
is cheap; it is directed at winning supporters for their vote at the ballot
box. Making promises work after the election is another matter. And we have
such an example today.
“Build the Wall.” Not practical and not needed. Policy and
implementation of the policy is the primary means to achieve the goal the wall
was supposed to achieve. The reason: the border is land, sea and air. It is not
a line drawn in the sand of a desert separating Mexico
and the southwestern states of the USA . Go around the wall by Gulf or
Pacific waters. Or fly to another land and enter that way.
Picking and choosing who you discourage from
immigrating is another matter. Canada
shares the longest border of a foreign nation we have. Period. Think about
that. Then measure the coast line mileage of the west and east coasts; add them
together; compare that astounding figure with the mileage of the desert border
with Mexico .
Peanuts.
Policy is the answer. Well thought out policy. And no one
person has the answer. All of us together most likely have the answer. It takes
combined intelligence to work this out. A Congress of many theories and
ideologies can do this with discipline. Without the discipline, however, it
will not happen.
Ask John McCain. When George W. Bush was new in the White
House, McCain worked with him to define a compromise that would lessen illegal
immigrant traffic from Mexico
to California , Arizona ,
New Mexico , Texas ,
Nevada . Both
McCain and Bush agreed on the basics. Then McCain was tasked to visit Congress
with suggestions. He was resoundingly repulsed by everyone in sight – the
leaders of both the House and the Senate, as well as rank and file members. Do
you remember those attempts? They were well reported in the press.
The interesting thing is McCain and Bush suggested similar
solutions voiced by Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and other political leaders.
Because the ideological divide and purity held sway in those days, progress on
the issue was impossible. Too bad; we have the same issue today and the
solution chosen by trump and his supporters won the argument.
Trouble is: it doesn’t work. It is impractical, too costly,
and down right inhuman and inhospitable. America is not like that.
The current RAISE act being touted by trump is similar. It
cuts in half immigrant flows by policy. It proposes the antithesis of what the
Statue of Liberty heralds – ‘give me your tired and poor, huddled masses
yearning to live free’ – and to do so redefines who and what America is.
I understand frustration. But I do not believe it should
redefine who we are as a people or nation.
Get a grip, people. Just because you are here and settled
does not mean you have the right or moral compass to close the door on others
who yearn for what you already have.
Shame!
August 7. 2017
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