7/24/2010

Not-So Common Sense

Opponents say the law will lead to racial profiling and trample on the rights of the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants in Arizona.
The Associated Press (July 23, 2010)
















Wow! That statement, published in our local morning newspaper and attributed to a national wire service makes my head hurt. The first thought that popped into my head as I read the line, was something my mother used to say whenever she thought I was being intellectually lazy or just plain stupid, "Come on! Use your head for something other than a hat rack."

The article from which the excerpt was taken, was making reference to the new Arizona immigration law, which is being scrutinized by a federal judge to determine whether or not it will take effect next week. There are so many things wrong with the published argument, it's hard to know where to begin its deconstruction.

My initial emotional response at seven-thirty in the morning: Have the brainiacs running the federal government gone mad? I thought law enforcement officials were supposed to do just that, enforce the laws! Shouldn't the folks in Washington who've sworn an oath to protect and serve the people of the United States, be concerned first and foremost with the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of illegals roaming the streets. Instead, it sounds like they're defending their right to be here!

A few days ago, I heard a government spokesman defending the lawsuit against the state of Arizona say, that the law unfairly punishes the "innocent" passenger riding in a car pulled over by an Arizona highway patrol officer for speeding, who is inadvertently found to be in the country illegally, and thus arrested. I could hardly believe my ears!

Oh, boo-hoo! They want us to empathize with this guy? That's like asking us to feel sorry for the innocent bank robber that gets nabbed because the driver of the get-away car gets pulled over for running a red light. What part of the definition of the word, illegal, don't these people understand?

In 1775, American Founding Father, Thomas Paine, began work on a pamphlet he intended to call, the Plain Truth, in which he made a case for the colonists' independence from Great Britain. Each argument that Paine put forth, was so well-reasoned, that it was suggested he rename the pamphlet, Common Sense. Paine didn't rely upon smoke and mirrors trickery, intellectual dishonesty or doublespeak to sway his audience. He simply appealed, in plain English, to the good judgement and common sense of the people, who weighed the evidence, and drew their own conclusions.

I frightens me to think, that we as a country, have become so mind-numbed and intellectually lazy, that we cannot think honestly and rationally for ourselves any more. Too many people today, sit in front of their television sets like drooling babes, eager to swallow whatever their parents in Washington choose to shovel into their gaping mouths?

Last week, the residents of Bell, California, one of the poorest municipalities in Los Angeles County, protested outside a city council meeting, after it was revealed that the city's manager is paid $800,000 a year, nearly twice the salary of the President of the United States. Outraged residents of the mostly Hispanic city with a per capita income of $28,400 in 2008, banged on the council chamber doors, shouting "get-out" in Spanish.

Putting aside the absurdity of the salary, and the size of the injustice being perpetrated against the taxpaying citizens of that community, what impresses me most, is that the residents got-it! This community of mostly first generation Americans (overlooking the possibility that a sizable percentage of the Spanish-speaking population may be illegal) realized they were being exploited, saw past the double-talk, and have decided to take back their city. Thomas Paine and the rest of the Founding Father's would be proud.

Let's see if the rest of the country will wake-up, wipe the drool from their faces and follow suit, now and in November.

1 comment:

  1. People who have never lived in the south western part of our country have no idea what life is truly like for residents. The magnatometors in the Phoenix airport are set (for a reason) at the highest levels above and beyond any other US airport due to the various methods employed by international travelers to smuggle into our country who knows what. (I know as I have titatium rods inplanted in my spine and this is the only airport where I set the scanner off) Living in San Diego county is difficult for those living in a more rural setting as the "coyotes" coming over the border live in remote fields and often break into the homes to steal blankets, sheets, pillows and towels. I am enfianced to a man who entered this country legally from the UK and has a green card permitting him to work in the US - the thought that all he put into that process is completely brushed aside by those who have come in illegally. To me it is an insult to those who sailed over - came through Ellis Island, and those who are arriving legally from countries as a result of religous or political persecution. We are not saying KEEP OUT; we are asking for legal immigration and consideration for our laws. Lawmakers who fail to keep their oath to our Constitution are at risk of losing the elections in November.

    ReplyDelete