Box Cars, Borders and Hee Haw

<body topmargin="0" leftmargin="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" height="100%"> <tr> <td valign="top" width="105" bgcolor="#111111" text="#F7F7FF"> <div><img src="6e655540.jpg" border="0" width="85" height="84" align="bottom" hspace="0" vspace="0"></div> <div> <b></b> </div><br> <br> <div> <b><img src="15f3b2c0.gif" border="0" width="59" height="44" align="bottom" hspace="0" vspace="0"></b> </div> </td> <td valign="top" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#080000" background="079cb9a3.jpg"> <div> <b>Box Cars, Borders and Hee Haw</b> </div> <div></div> <div> <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript1.2" src="stm31.js"></script> </div> <div> <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript1.2">  </script> </div><br> <div><img src="0ab749c0.jpg" border="0" width="116" height="156" align="bottom" hspace="0" vspace="0"></div><br> <div> <p align="justify">I was having a conversation with someone recently and the topic of immigration came up. I wasn't really listening to this person, to be honest. I was too caught up in my own magnificence, of course. "We ought to close up the borders and keep them out", said the voice. Huh? I looked up from my paper and asked ... "huh?", as only a bored Buddha can ask. "Mexicans, Cubans, Africans - we're letting too many people into this damn country". I just stared at this idiot, speechless. How do you respond to something like that? How can ANYONE in <b><i>this</i></b><i></i> country be so utterly stupid? I didn't speak up then (sadly), but I will now.</p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">We are a <b><u>NATION</u></b><u></u> of immigrants. Our ancestors boarded ships or walked for miles in the dead of night to get here. Some were forced to make the trip. Some left their lives behind in search of a better life for their families. Some were fleeing religious persecution. The point is, we are a nation of immigrants. We do not - not me, not you ... not anyone you know - have the right to say, "Well, <b><i>now</i></b><i></i> we'll close the door". America is about second chances. It's about freedom. Every time I hear about Cubans risking their lives on some makeshift raft or Mexicans who wander through the night, sleeping in boxcars and fields - just for a SHOT at living here... it makes me want to go thank them for reminding me why we're so lucky. Don't you get it? They RISK THEIR LIVES to come here. They LEAVE THEIR FAMILIES BEHIND to come here. Many of them don't pay taxes only because someone gets a hold of them and forces them into what amounts to slave labor. They don't know the language. They don't have roots here. They stick close together out of fear. They take what they can get and they shut up - not wanting to risk having to go back. I'm convinced that 100% of them would GLADLY pay taxes to become part of this country - to become citizens like you and me.</p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">We can't afford to turn our backs on the "melting pot" philosophy that politicians love to babble on about. We can't, because.. it's what makes this a hell of a place to live. The Irish... The Italians... The Haitians... The Mexicans... Every culture helps to contribute to that pot. The fact that all of these disparate people can live so close together and not force some kind of Middle East conflict is proof of how special our little bubble is. So... don't fuck it up with talk of sending people back or closing borders or lash out at your neighbor just because their English isn't as good as it could be. I bet if you asked them, they'd love for you to help them out with the language. I've had <b><i>many</i></b><i></i> foreigners (Chinese, Mexican) approach me, sheepishly, and ask for help. They came here for a reason - because they WANT to be here. They're the <b><i>true</i></b><i></i> patriots. While you and I sit on our couch and watch Hee Haw, they're struggling to make their way in a country that secretly wishes they'd leave ... NOW! When you have some time, go back over the Declaration of Independence. Read Emerson. Read Emma Lazarus' words - "give me your hungry, your tired, your poor" that grace the Statue of Liberty. Are you proud to be an American? Yeah? Then be proud that this new wave of immigrants want the same thing - to be proud Americans. Welcome them. Help them. Given our history, can we afford to piss on their dreams?</p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">They are no different than our grandparents or great grandparents.</p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">Remember that. Embrace it!</p> </div> <div> <p align="justify">Oh, and.. pleeeeeeeeease stop watching Hee Haw...</p> </div><br> <br> </td> </tr> </table> </body>