The View From 1776

Appeasement on our Borders
By Lewis Lafontaine

President Bush is fond of saying that he believes in the “Rule of Law,” yet he does not secure our borders which is his Constitutional duty. The War in Iraq is justified by telling the American public that our young men are dying in Iraq so the terrorists will not attack American soil with weapons of mass destruction. Despite this grave threat to national security the President and Congress refuse to secure American borders and continue to allow illicit drugs to pour through our borders.

An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last. ~ Winston Churchill

This policy of immigration appeasement ruins the lives of millions of Americans, is expensive to the taxpayer and represents a decline in western civilization. While millions of American families go without health care insurance, the illegal immigrant gets free health care, public education and Social Security Benefits. This appeasement is rationalized away by saying “America is a nation of Immigrants,” but in fact all the nations of planet earth are composed of immigrants.  Unlike the immigrants of colonial times who eked out a living in the wilderness or died, the illegal immigrant of today is subsidized by the American taxpayer from the cradle to the grave.

Americans believe in paying a debt for their crimes whether it is:  littering, jay walking, speeding, robbery, rape or murder.  Unlike the illegal immigrant, American citizens have no “sanctuary” cities which they can flee to in order to circumvent the “Rule of Law.” The establishment of sanctuary cities undermines Constitutional concept of “Equality under the Law.”

This hypocrisy is not lost upon the average American. There is a reason why Joe Arpaio is the most popular sheriff in the nation. Most Americans do love their country and respect the “Rule of Law.”

It is a curious fact that human beings think with words.  Language is the vehicle for the expression of ideas and is the basis of human dialogue and communication. Commonality of language is important for the survival of a nation state.  Anyone who has watched a foreign film with subtitles can testify as to how difficult it can be to watch but imagine living in a society replete with foreign languages and no subtitles at all.

U.S. English Inc. reports that there are 322 languages spoken in the United States. 207 are spoken in California and 59 in Wyoming.  There are 135 languages spoken in Los Angeles County alone.

Education is a Pillar of Freedom and the youth of America should be encouraged to be multilingual but there is wisdom in a nation state possessing a core language which in America is English. American society is becoming a veritable Tower of Babel.  What Roman Emperor, Senator, Centurion, Citizen or Slave would have ever dreamed that their mother tongue of Latin would one day be a dead language?  It can happen to us.

There is great practicality, beauty and majesty in each American saying:

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
and to the Republic for which it stands,
one Nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.

President Bush, with the support of republicans and democrats from both houses of Congress, is promoting a “comprehensive” immigration plan which includes amnesty for some thirteen million illegal immigrants. 

This appeasement is rationalized by claiming that the illegal immigrants are necessary because they will do work that Americans will not due.  This is an insult to our forefathers who settled and developed the wilderness as well as to families who need to have both parents working full time today in order to support their families.  The failure of the President, Congress, The Immigration and Naturalization Service, and other governmental agencies which ought to protect its citizens collude to reward the illegal immigrant and thereby denigrate the Rule of Law.

The illegal immigrant can forge identification papers, work under the table without paying taxes and get free health care insurance.  If an American citizen were to forge identification papers or work under the table without paying taxes, he would go to jail if caught. No sanctuary cities for him.  The American citizen gets no free health insurance.  He must go bankrupt before getting free health care or go without.  The business who hires the illegal immigrant is not prosecuted.  This simply makes a mockery of respect for “Law and Order.”

Semper Eadum – Always the Same ~ Elizabeth I

The man who loves other countries as much as his own stands on a level with the man who loves other women as much as he loves his own wife. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

In 376 A.D. the Roman Emperor Valens did what no Roman Emperor had ever done before him.  The scene was on the frontier of the Roman Empire at the River Danube.  Valens allowed a horde of Gothic refugees to enter Roman territory.  Valens offered the Goths “amnesty.” Years later these Goths would revolt and kill the emperor and most of his Army at the battle of Hadrianople.

Perhaps history will not repeat itself, but it would not wise to underestimate the wisdom of Elizabeth I.  The Goths made no secret of their antipathy towards Rome and our neighbors to the south make no secret of “La Recnquista” or the re-conquering of the Southwestern United States.  Tick Tock.... only time will tell.

Americans in general are not opposed to immigration and do not believe that the options of immigration and security are either/or propositions. Americans do not want a Berlin Wall which was built to keep people in, but a wall to keep illegal immigrants and potential terrorists out.  Critics of such a wall miss the most important element of the wall, which is a GATE

When a visitor comes, It is expected that he will firstly knock on your front door, introduce himself, state the purpose of his visit, and enter only when invited. It is expected that he will speak the language of his host and not take advantage of the liberality and good will of the host. The same ought to be true of entering this nation. In civilized nations it is considered rather poor form to break basement window and sneak into the home of your host. Americans expect immigrants to obey the “Rule of Law” as well as “The Rules of Hospitality.”

These Rules would include:

• Approach the gate and announce who you are.

• State the purpose of your visit i.e. work, school, tourism, permanent citizenship.

• If working, give proof of where you are working and living, as well as how long you will be working and where you will be living.  Your employer will verify this and comply with all U.S. labor laws.  Upon completion of your work you may return home through the gate from which you entered.

• A student would do the same as a worker but would provide the name of the educational institution he is attending. Upon graduation the student may return home in the same manner as a worker or apply for permission to stay in the United States.

• The Tourist would get a temporary visa and provide Immigration with his travel itinerary, and, upon completion of his vacation, return home refreshed with many Kodak memories of his visit.

• Immigrants seeking permanent asylum or permanent citizenship would apply with the understanding that they would need to learn English as their primary language and swear Allegiance to the United States of America above all other nations.

Compliance with these Rules of Hospitality is not symptomatic of xenophobia, but rather indicative of both common courtesy and common sense.

Every good citizen makes his country’s honor his own, and cherishes it not only as precious but as sacred. He is willing to risk his life in its defense and is conscious that he gains protection while he gives it. ~ Andrew Jackson