This week, my fellow Observers, I'd like to share a story with you. A tale about a man who wanted to make a better life for his family. This man left his home and traveled across an ocean to a new country. He waited patiently to be processed upon arriving at his entry port. He received his papers and with very little money in his pocket went about looking for lodging and a job. He found himself settling in Connecticut, found work at the New Haven Railroad Company as a conductor and saved his meager salary in order to bring the rest of his family to this country. He did this alone, with no help, with no charity. He did this for his family. This man was my great grandfather and this is a story that has been passed down through three generations. It is a story of courage, of dedication, determination and perseverance. And according to the current American mentality, when it comes to immigration, one that I should be leery about who I tell it to.
It seems, as of late, all of the problems in this country are due to all the immigrants here. "We're letting too many in."..." We're not being vigilant enough to make sure they are not part of some terrorist cell or faction."..." They come to this country pregnant to have their babies here."..." They only come here to get welfare."..." They just marry Americans to become citizens."..." We can't trust any of them."... They' re everywhere!"..." Why can't we stop them?". It goes on and on and on like a broken racist record we can't stop from skipping in our heads. Now, some of our concerns are grounded in reality, but most are just society once again finding reasons to justify it's prejudice. I'm not talking about what happened to Kate Steinle, illegal immigrants, immigration laws that need to be revised or our current presidential administration's apparent indifference to the problems occurring because of current policies. These are all separate issues as far as I'm concerned. I know a lot of the "Gung Ho, All American made, Build the wall and build it high to keep Wally Wetback outta my country" will probably disagree with me, but the truth is they are separate issues. I'm addressing legal immigration. Hard working people like our great great grandparents who came to this country to build a better life. Our society has unfortunately reached a point where it can't seem to distinguish the difference. Immigrants are immigrants. Legal or not they're looked upon as a scourge on this country. We've adopted this snobbish attitude that modern day legal immigrants do not deserve the same chance or consideration that our ancestors did while hiding that ugly truth behind an unfurled flag of disdain and calling it patriotism. This way of thinking is nothing new, though. Immigrants have been looked down upon through every generation. The Chinese immigrants who virtually built the transcontinental railroad. The Germans who reinvented our agricultural industry. The Irish and Italians who built our largest cities. Not to mention most of the unskilled immigrants on the fore front of the industrial revolution that became factory workers. All went through their own racial trial of fire along with immigration protests and to this day are not entirely accepted due to where they're from or what religion they practice.
I find it difficult to accept that a country full of immigrants (or direct descendants thereof) have so many problems with immigration. Why? Because we were here first? Let me tell you something Myles Standish....Unless you can use the words Sioux, Algonquin, Cherokee, Apache, Hopi, etc. etc. in the description of your lineage or your family owns a casino in Connecticut or the Carolinas.... You Weren't! Yeah, yeah, yeah....I know.... that really, really white guy that claims to be the tribe spokesperson on the local news doesn't look like a "Running Bear" to me either.....but who are we to judge? No matter where we or our family lines came from, we seem to have forgotten that over 90% of us are not from here. Whether our relatives came over on the Mayflower, a slave boat or were steerage on an ocean liner, we all have blood ties to immigrants. The fact is, our earlier claims to this country are riddled with violence, but that's not something we want to talk about. It's in the past, so let's keep it that way... no sense dredging up all that spilled milk again! What's important is that this is our country now and we can keep out anybody we want to because our forefathers called dibs... not yours, so there! Now, pleeeaaassse go back where you came from.
Another thing I've heard, that aggravates me to no end, are all the people griping about being angered by immigrants taking jobs away from Americans who need them. What jobs are they talking about exactly.... hmmm? That sweet bagging job at the grocery store?....I can surly sympathize. That nifty lawn mowing job in the 100 degree heat?....I feel your pain. How about that hotel maid job so many of us went to college for or that vegetable picking gem of an occupation we all hope to land?.... I can certainly understand why your upset. Try to remember the last time you walked into a McDonald's and didn't have a language issue. My wife likes sausage Mcmuffins without egg. I've lost track of how many times I had to order them and tell the cashier "no huevo" and thanks to my 8th grade Spanish teacher, Mr. Méndez, I'm able to do so with a certain amount of ease. Is it just me or does it seem that these are jobs that nobody really wants, still need to be done and nobody really cared about until José or Guadalupe took them. Then, all of the sudden, they become "career goals" for some of these idiots! Far be it for me to point out all of the "true blue", "Go America", "rooted in the USA" companies finding cheaper labor abroad and eliminating numerous "All American" jobs every day. What about them, huh? Whose taking our jobs now? Why don't the American people have enough of a problem with them and boycott their products? Even "Buy American", "No Immigrant Labor", billionaire candidate Donald Trump doesn't seem to have too much of a problem with this. Unless he's called out on it, that is. We all do so love those $8.00 jeans at Walmart though, don't we? Made in America...... China.... what's the difference if it keeps our wallets fatter. While we're on the subject, I have a question to pose about day laborers. Whose worse? The immigrant, not paying taxes, looking for work to support his family or the "American" business owner paying the immigrant $5.00 per hour so he can line his own pockets with the extra cash he doesn't have to pay in employment taxes and compensation insurance? Fortunately these business owners are relatively easy to spot. They are usually the ones shouting the loudest at the "Stop Illegal Immigration" rallies. Now that's the American Dream!
I will admit that there are issues with illegal immigrants hat need to be addressed. Even though I understand our federal and state governments are issuing drivers licenses and providing "sanctuary" cites for these people as a way to document the undocumented, I question the end justifying the means. Even though the "means" have a certain amount of credibility, the "end" doesn't seem to be anywhere in sight. There are too many of these people already here and we will never find them all. Especially with so many "Americans" hiring them to do the jobs they don't want to do while avoiding paying taxes and fees they don't want to pay. As far as some of the other complaints people are tossing around at the water cooler about illegals, most are myths or laws have been changed to prevent "instant" citizenship. Yes, if you are born here you are a citizen, but your parents don't become ones too. In many cases, lately, some parents have actually been deported and have either left their children with family that are already citizens or denounced their child's citizenship to this country all together. No, if a citizen marries an illegal they do not automatically become a citizen. No, you cannot receive welfare benefits unless you or your child is citizen. In the case of a child being a citizen, the child can receive an amount of welfare (primarily medical) but the parent does not. Some legislation has been introduced recently to allow parents of children who are citizens to stay here (as long as they register with our government and start the legal citizenship process) and illegals who have been here for a certain amount of time to stay if they do the same. These new regulations have been met with a certain amount of resistance and although some of them have been implemented they have been done so under severe scrutiny. This is just another method our government is using to identify these people who just want the opportunity for a better life than their country of origin can provide. They manipulate the system no more than the millions of "American" citizens that do on a daily basis.
Finally, I'd like to address all the internet slogans people are posting about wanting their country back. What I want to know is what country exactly do you want back? The one that our ancestors murdered, pillaged and displaced an entire culture to create? Is that the country you want back? I hate to be the one to break it to you Yankee Doodle, but no matter how much star spangled sugar you coat it with, that's exactly how our country came to be. I know some will label me unpatriotic, but that depends on how they define what it is to be a patriot. Do we want to be patriotic to the history of violence this country was founded upon? The bigotry and discrimination against those that wish to build a life here? To blindly follow those who would turn us away from the very ideals of what our country is supposed to stand for and claim that it is the only way to save it from itself? Or would we rather honor our past mistakes by learning from them and try to follow a philosophy that is etched upon a plaque at the breakwater of one of our largest harbors. "Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
If you choose to honor the former, I suppose I'm not a patriot, because the America that I believe in, the one where all people are treated as equals, where church and state are separate, where the government is for the people by the people.
The America where our soldiers died not in vain protecting our rights that our government cannot take away.
The America that doesn't turn it's back on it's veterans.
Where the homeless are not ignored.
Where education and healthcare are not for profit but institutions for the betterment of mankind.
That America doesn't exist. It's a myth, a dream, an apparition brought on by the promises of hope given to us by a group of slave owners that experimented with the concepts of freedom, equality and democracy. Strictly an Observation. If you'll excuse me, I promised my family I'd bring home McDonald's.
