Boundaries

Boundaries.

Defined spaces.

Borders.

Mine:Yours.

Frontier.

Known: Unknown.

Fences.

In: Out.

Partition.

Divided areas.

Perimeter.

Outer edge.

Open borders are no borders at all.

Freedom respects boundaries because it is defined by personal rights;

Both mine and yours.

No boundaries = no rights = no freedom.

Sanctuary for Refugees

The massive influx of illegal immigrants on our southern border has created a crisis of conscience in our country that is not couched in such terms, but is one nonetheless.  Normally, when such massive numbers of people leave their country to migrate elsewhere it is due to an easily recognizable event such as war.  The people are often sheltered in refugee camps in neighboring countries until they can be re-settled elsewhere, or until the event is over and they return to their homes.  The current migration north from central American countries is the result of economic events that threaten the security of individuals -- primarily due to poor governance.  It includes overwhelming gang and drug violence in many of the countries that is similar in impact to war, but it is also due to corruption in the governing bodies that control those countries.

The moral dilemma is in this country.  How do we deal with the humanitarian aspects of the crisis while protecting the integrity of our border and our country -- especially from the violence of drug and human traffickers who exploit the surging numbers of migrants?

In the current media-hyped environment of the President's suggestion that the illegal immigrants be sent to "sanctuary cities," a clear point is being missed, calls by individuals within those cities to accept illegal immigrants into our country are based in the concept that they will be placed elsewhere and that others will have to deal with the impact they will have on local infrastructure and taxes.  It is a typical liberal response of mandating the government deal with an issue rather than taking personal responsibility.

A complicating factor is that the liberal call is for government largess (funded by all of us law-abiding taxpayers) to provide the humanitarian relief placing the burden on ALL rather than on those who would choose such a response.  Big government and "federal" responsibility is a mantra of those on the left.  By planting those dependent immigrants in Republican strongholds, the impact is to dilute the voting strength of those of opposing mindset with the influx of new, government-dependent voters.  What were once strong Republican voting districts become Democrat strongholds in a short period of time -- witness the rise of the new and highly visible Representatives such as Omar.

Placing illegal immigrants in those areas declaring "sanctuary" status makes sense.  Let those who want to allow them unfettered access to our country carry the burden.  It also concentrates their voting power into areas where it will make no difference.

What should the Christian response be to these immigrants?  That is a difficult question to answer in some ways and yet our responsibility is clear -- provide humanitarian relief.  It should be done with wisdom. 

How should the government deal with them?  Their status as illegal immigrants should be maintained and they should be provided housing similar to refugee camps.  Their transition into society should follow legal channels that require meeting citizenship standards established by law.  Criminal elements found within them should be prosecuted for their crimes -- not sent home merely to return again.  Access across our borders should be controlled -- that requires limiting access to a few points which can be done effectively only with a wall.  Efforts to stabilize the countries of origin of the immigrants should be initiated, including assistance to eliminate the criminal elements -- including those within governments -- that are fueling the crisis.  Closing our borders is not the answer.  Doing so merely adds to the resentment of our economic success and increases global instability which does no one any good.

If our country is so attractive to others, we should export those things which make it that way.  Make it so people desire to remain in their own country rather than to leave.  Export our form of governance (at least the basic philosophy) and export our economic model (again, at least the best parts of it).  We have allowed our own country to drift toward a model that threatens to implode, but we still have something that is extremely desirable as evidenced by those risking everything to get here. 

Political Motivations

The harassment of the President by the opposition party continues with calls for release of his tax returns.  I really don't think it is anyone's business -- especially not the business of those elected representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate.  If they believe transparency in his financial dealings is important, perhaps they should begin by releasing their own tax returns -- every year since they have been elected to their current office.

There are certainly a lot of them who have become wealthy since being elected to office.  They seem to become overnight financial geniuses while complaining about their salaries which are far above what the average citizen earns.  I'm sure some of it is shrewd investment advice related to legislative actions taken while they are in office.  I suspect some of it is "favored" insider deals that allow them to leverage small investments into exceptionally large returns -- perhaps in exchange for votes on related legislation.  There may perhaps be some of it that is downright dishonest dealings under the table that never see the light of day.

One of the things that really bothers me is resistance to border protections -- including a wall.  Without controlled borders we really aren't a sovereign country anymore.  The greatest beneficiaries of open borders are illicit businesses such as drug and human trafficking.  Controlled borders has nothing to do with immigration, as some would claim.  It is about national sovereignty.  If you lock the doors of your home when you are away, or at night, you practice controlling your own personal borders.  If you have a fence around your yard you practice controlling your border.  It only makes sense that a nation control who enters the country.

It isn't about race either.  It is about making sure criminal elements are kept out to the extent possible.  So, why is it in the best interest of our country to have open borders?  It isn't!  I suspect it is about that last way legislators get wealthy that I mentioned above.

Open borders, just like lowering the voting age to 16, is also about votes.  The opposition party is desperate to find ways to gain power through the voting booth and they believe it will be at the hand of illegal immigrants who are granted the right to vote and at the hand of young voters who have limited knowledge of the system because of an education that has failed to teach solid economic and political theory, but has instead taught that socialism is good and that there is no such thing as right and wrong -- merely personal beliefs.

I wish I knew how to fix what is wrong with our country.  We are so far down the road of a fatal internal failure that I don't know if recovery is possible.  I hope so.

The first step is to get rid of the current crop of elected representatives and replace them with new ones who have their constituents best interest in mind rather than simply the grasping of power and money.  Calls for the President's tax returns is a sleight-of-hand move that attempts to misdirect the public eye in the same manner the Mueller probe did -- pointing at the President as being culpable of the very things they themselves are guilty of doing.

Sometimes I just have to vent....

Where Was Jesus Yesterday?

Yesterday, on the day in which we exercised our privilege and right to vote, I saw a meme on Facebook that said, "If Jesus was alive on this earth, where would he be; at a Trump rally or with the immigrant caravan?"  I didn't respond, although I really wanted to do so.

The meme was posted by someone of my acquaintance who has strong Liberal leanings and it was a jab at Christians.  This person appears (based on their posts) to believe Christians are right-wing extremists who tote Bibles and guns and think everyone should believe as they do.  It was intended to be provocative.  It is great that we live in a nation where free speech is still, for the most part, acceptable -- except of course on many college campuses.

 The reality is that Jesus IS alive and on this earth and He was/is in both of those places.  He is in the hearts and minds -- and hopefully the actions -- of Christians everywhere.  The problem is that many Christians don't act the way non-believers think they should.  In fact, many don't act the way believers think they should.  I am first to admit that I don't always act the way I should!

I have seen outcry from Christians at the Red Cross providing food and water to those in the immigrant caravans.  Hmmm....isn't that what the Red Cross is supposed to do? -- help those in a crisis situation?  It should be Christians doing those things, not some NGO.

Should Christians be at a MAGA rally?  Absolutely!  Christians need to be engaged and involved in every aspect of the political process, humanitarian aid, caring for our own homeless, meeting the needs of the poor and downtrodden, in the halls of businesses both large and small, in the classroom as teachers and professors, in elected office and every other aspect of life on this planet.

We sometimes confuse Christianity and patriotism.  I get a lump in my throat every time I see the flag of our country flying and the Star Spangled Banner being played -- and nothing does it faster than the colors flying from horseback at a rodeo.  I have the deepest respect for our Veterans and both their service and sacrifice for our freedoms.  I believe that we do not have a sovereign country unless we control our borders.  Illegal immigration is still illegal.  There are those who call for open borders.  Such a policy would be the end of our country.  The long term result would be the loss of freedom for all -- both those already living here and the newly arrived.  Evil flows to and attacks weakness.  (Don't be confused by the strength that comes from Jesus in our own personal weakness -- that is strength.)

Our country has changed and the pace of change is accelerating.  We are seeing many young voters who hold radically different values from their parents and grandparents.  They will accelerate change.

One thing that stands out to me as I view the election results is the difference between rural and urban voters.  Rural America leaned strongly Republican while Urban and Suburban America leaned strongly Democrat (with the exception of Iowa corn and soybean farmers who have been affected by the trade war with China).  Why is that?  There are poor in the country as well as in the city.  There is racial diversity in the country as well as in the city.  One pundit last night kept referring to women voters in the suburbs.  I wonder if he realizes there are women voters in the country and the city too?

Many in the cities believe that rural voters are ignorant, backward, uneducated Christians (in this sense they use it as a derogatory word.)  Many in rural areas see people in the cities as ignorant, arrogant and rude.  We need to figure out the root of our differences and find ways to overcome them.  Until we do, we face the danger of further division.

The answer though, is to make certain that Jesus is in all of those places - both in the cities, in the suburbs and in rural America -- and not in name only, it must be in the actions of those who claim to follow Him.  He is the answer -- and He is marching with the immigrants and He is at the Trump MAGA rallies and He is even in the deserts of the Middle East reaching out to the hearts of terrorists.

Dancing With the Devil

[Below is an excerpt from another piece of fiction that I started some time back.  It seems timely...]

Mexico was never politically stable.  It drifted through the years after Spanish conquest from Monarchy to quasi-Democracy, but always with a strong culture of graft and corruption by which a few became obscenely wealthy while the majority existed on the edge of starvation.  Many abortive “revolutions” through the years merely served to tighten the hold of the powerful while diminishing the power of the impoverished.  It was a country ripe for Communism.

Juan Rodriguez was born into that poverty in a small village outside Guerrero in Coahuila.  At the age of 8 his father died at the hands of a local Cartel and an uncle took him east across the border into Texas, to pick vegetables in the valley.  Juan didn’t make much, but his uncle confiscated what he did and sent it back to Guerrero to Olivia, Juan’s mother.  Those meager earnings, along with what she could make in a local cantina were all she had to support herself and Juan’s six siblings.  It was a hard life.

Juan and his uncle had entered the U.S. illegally, but to them it wasn’t a matter of the law, it was survival.  You did what you had to do to provide for your family.  Contacts in Texas provided them with identities in exchange for about half of their first week of earnings and they lived with a group of other workers in a small, rundown house on the outskirts of Edinburg.  Juan was sometimes abused by the other men in the group, but he endured because he didn’t know any better.

Life was hard and the work was hard, but at such a young age there were few choices.  It was an age when he should be in school and playing with other children, but it was not to be.

Each day Juan would go out with the men to pick vegetables.  They were paid based on quantity, not on the number of hours they put into the job.  Juan’s share was small because he couldn’t pick as much as the older men.  His uncle took what he earned anyway.

In such conditions a friendly face and the semblance of caring were attractive to the wise-beyond-his-years youngster.  It was into that need that Rigo Carrales stepped.  He began to protect Juan from the most egregious of the abuses perpetrated by some of the more hardened men who lived with them in the common housing.

Rigo was part of a radical organization gaining popularity among the young of Mexico and the southern United States.  Their goal was to overthrow the Mexican government and replace it with a Socialist one.  Rigo was one of the more effective recruiters of the quickly growing movement and Juan was a prime candidate….

Birds of a Feather

CDO has a good post on his "Life in America" site that is a great analogy for the Illegal Immigration issue. Check it out.

A Wall by Any Other Name

Some folks think we need a wall
To keep our borders strong.
I am of the opinion
That they have got it wrong.
What we really need
Are neighbors to the south
Whose very deeds do match
What comes out of their mouth.
What I mean is that
They've got to fix what's broke
Instead of playing games
With mirrors and with smoke.
They claim to be our allies
In the war on illegal drugs
But I think they're really in the pay
Of all those drug lord thugs.
When they can get control
Of their own economy
Their people will stay home
Instead of trying to flee.
They need jobs that pay enough
To keep their family fed.
Then instead of coming north
They'll stay at home instead.

Besides --
If the Dems should get control
Of Congress and the Presidency
There will be a lot of folks
Who may just southward flee!
And we don't want a wall
Standing in our way
Or it'll be like Berlin
In a not too long ago day.

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid!

"Open the borders and let 'em come in,"
Said old Kennedy once again.
"The ones that have been here for awhile
Have started to vote Republican.

"If we don't broaden our base pretty quick
We're going to lose control
The people might see that we only want power
Over everything -- even their soul.

"We've 'bout got GW on the ropes
Over the Iraqi thing
So, strike while we can, 'cause he's gotta cave
Or we'll send him a time line again.

"It's easy to stop the patriots right now
There's getting to be so few around.
We've confused all the rest to the point they don't know
Just where the truth can be found.

"As long as we can control the press
We'll lead the lemmings along.
And when we get Hillie up in the big house
The world will be singing our song."

Where Are The Workers???

A friend of mine whose business
Requires a crew of laborers
To harvest turf for people's lawns
Constantly has difficulty
Finding anybody that wants to work.
The work is difficult and dirty
And the hours are often long
Especially in the spring and fall.
He said he gets quite frustrated
With all the folks complaining
About the immigration issue
Because he needs some help.
He tried to work college students
Because he figured they were
Always needing money but
They often left after only half a day
And never even came back
For their paycheck. They all
Wanted easy jobs that didn't
Take long hours and so they
Left without even saying goodbye.
They're spoiled, he said, and
Didn't even have the decency
To say, hey, this is harder than I thought,
I think I'll go find something else.
My friend said that with the
Unemployment rate as low as it is
Our country is basically at
Full employment, so why is
Everyone complaining about
Illegal immigrants taking all
The jobs when he can't even find
Someone to work the jobs he has?
Let's get 'em a "green card."


So, I got to wondering about his comment on the unemployment rate. Having been trained in economics, I was taught that anything below about 5% unemployment is considered full employment because there are a certain percentage of the populace that is either unemployable, or chooses to remain unemployed. As of January 1, 2007, our national unemployment rate stood at 4.6%. Click on this link to a table of the Unemployment Rate by State as of Dec. 31, 2006. I understand the "illegal" part of the argument; what I don't understand is the resistance to a work permit program. The jobs are here and a lot of them are going unfilled because it is "beneath the dignity" of our spoiled welfare class to take them.

Random Thoughts on Immigration

Strengthen our border controls.
When found, return illegals across the border.
Export the jobs right along with the workers --
i.e. don't discourage companies from investing south of the border.
Cheap labor, lower manufacturing cost, better buy for U.S. consumers.
Guest worker program -- strictly enforced and controlled.
U.S. Unions -- tough. It's either jobs here, or jobs there -- which do you prefer?
We either let them in or we export the jobs.
Implement trade incentives tied to anti-corruption measures.
Offer infrastructure loans.
Accelerate economic development and diversification south of the border.
Give them plenty of reasons to stay home.
Don't whine when you can't hire a maid, or a janitor, or a cook, or an agricultural worker, or a packing plant worker, or .... you get the picture.
Offer free travel south for all inner city gang members. No return ticket. Or, implement forced prison labor gangs. While we're solving problems lets solve as many as we can at one time.

The Land of Promise

The children are crying from the hunger
That has plagued his family for generations
Because the meager sustenance purchased
By a hard day's labor barely keeps them alive.
At five feet, two inches, Jose is the tallest
In his family of nine surviving siblings.
His heart is full of fear because the only
Way to improve his family's lot is to travel
North across eleven hundred miles of desert
To where the opportunity for a difference begins.

Across the river is a patrol that seems ever vigilant
Yet the stories abound that there are many ways
To enter the Land of Promise. The small sack
That carries all his possessions is no hindrance
But also no help, because none in his family
Have ever managed to save enough to pay the
Fees that the "coyotes", the human smugglers,
Demand for safe passage. So, it must be the river.

Lost in a wilderness of thorns, he wanders
Searching for water that his body needs
To replenish the reserves which are almost depleted.
He stumbles across a stock tank that,
Although stagnant and warm, provides
That which is necessary for survival. He hears
In the distance the sound of a motor approaching
And knows that he must hide if he is to
Reach his cousin that is supposed to be
Living somewhere in San Antonio.

After weeks of travel, mostly on foot,
He knocks timidly at the door of Fernando,
His mother's cousin. Reluctantly he is allowed
To enter where he is fed and through family news,
Eventually accepted as someone to be trusted.
If only he could find some job that would
Give him the means to live and to send money
Back to his family he would be happy.
He is told there are no jobs to be had here
But, there is work in the feedlots far to the north.

Ernesto drives a truck hauling produce from the
Valley to Lubbock and he will take you, but
You must be careful to do everything that he says
Because the Patrol has been watching Ernesto.
If they catch you, they will send you back.
You must stay beneath the tarp Jose, if you
Want to make it safely. You will be on your
Own to get from Lubbock to Hereford, but
Once you are there, find Emilio, he will help you.

"Can you drive? Can you use a rope? Do you
Know how to doctor cattle? Do you speak any
English? Do you have warm clothes? I will
Get you a Social Security card and a driver's license
To use, but you must remember, your name is
John. You will bring your check to me when
You are paid and I will keep part for the rent
You will owe me, part for your food, and part
To pay for the card and the license. You will
Shovel the feed bunks and clean the tanks
And anything else that they ask you to do."

Six months later, Jose/John can speak enough
English to get around without much help. He
Lives with three others in a room behind the
Laundromat where they cook on a single hotplate.
He has sent twelve hundred dollars to his family
That he misses very much. It is a fortune to them.
In this Land of Promise the work is hard. He yearns
For the day that he can return to his home
And start his own business and a family.