20060411
Sometimes reality intrudes on the normal news cycle, and this week seems to be the week for such intrusions. The latest source of that intrusion is the ongoing and growing demonstrations by illegal Hispanic, in fact mostly Mexican, immigrants against the proposed US immigration control measures currently stalled in Congress.
The amazing reality of this developing situation is that most Americans have no idea what is really happening because they do not bother to look beyond the headline news to see what lies beneath. And what lies beneath is a labyrinth of politics and social agendas enough to make anyone’s head spin.
The truth is that the bills currently in Congress are not even really anything for the protestors to worry about. These bills, or at least the bill that will finally emerge from the divisive Congressional process, will accomplish exactly nothing in solving the illegal immigration problem or securing our borders. This is because both of the bills, and the compromise legislation that will result, are long on rhetoric and short on action.
Consider that the two options are passing laws that make illegally entering the US “more of a crime” and promise “more punishment” for companies that violate US employment laws, completely ignoring the fact that the laws already on the books are rarely and inconsistently enforced. One of the bills would grant amnesty to the 11 million illegals already in the country, effectively legitimizing their lawbreaking, while the other would authorize more border patrol agents without funding those positions.
What is the point of this? The problem is that too few Americans actually care about these issues enough to force Congress to do something real about the problem. As a result, the Congressional actions become self important and impotent power plays as the representatives and senators stagger under the constant weight of special interests and lobbyists.
Meanwhile, the complex problem of illegal immigration continues to grow more problematic with each passing day. Consider that there are currently an estimated 11 to 13 million illegal immigrants in the US today, and that number is currently growing at a rate of 1.5 to 2.5 million per year. While it is obvious that many of these illegals are coming because there is a demand for cheap labor to do jobs Americans simply refuse to do, these immigrants bring with them a refusal to integrate into the culture that employs them, thereby creating a divide and the ongoing friction that results.
Further, while most of these immigrants are honestly here just to work, along with them come persons who come here to break the law, and among those who break the law, one must assume some of them may well be agents of the international terrorist organizations and nations that want to do us harm. Because the US has little control over these immigrants because they enter the country illegally, there is also practically no way to control the people who need to be stopped from acting once here.
Ultimately, a new and distressing warning sign has appeared to once again call attention to the problem the US faces with ongoing illegal immigration, and that is the massive protests of hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants in the streets of major US cities. Consider the paradox of witnessing persons in the country illegally demonstrating to demand rights in the country whose laws they have broken. Worse, their protest is being courted by American politicians who promise to treat these illegals fairly even if it means thwarting the will of their own legal constituents.
These protests look eerily familiar when compared to recent events in France or in the Muslim world. One could easily imagine the possibility that these protests could go beyond simple demonstrations and onto the realm of rebellion. 11 million people is a whole lot to face off against if they decide they are willing to progress from making noise to enforcing their will.
Yet, while all of this is going on, the average American just does not seem to care. There can be little doubt that, if even a small percentage of voting Americans demanded coherent action from their government on the issue of illegal immigration, there would be a response from the government to solve the problem. The truth, however, is that few Americans bother to take the few minutes it would require from their daily lives to inform themselves or make their will know to those who represent them.
If anyone doubts such a fact, they can research the reality for themselves. Ask a few simple questions among they people they know. How many people know that there are protests going on right now? How many people vote at every opportunity? How many people have written their congress people, as simple as sending an email, to express their opinion on a subject?
Now, compare those answers to the answers to the following questions. Who are the current competitors on “American Idol”? Who got voted off of “Survivor” last week? What is the record of a favorite sporting team?
The likely answers will reveal the reality stated in this post and elsewhere, and that reality is that there is a large and growing problem in the US about illegal immigration, let alone other issues, and very few Americans know or care whether such a thing is going on. As a result, this problem will remain unresolved, will grow worse, and will eventually inevitably effect all Americans whether they want to be bothered or not. Once again, the solution and the choice lies with the American people, not the government or anyone else, and choosing not to decide is still making a choice.
DLH
How does one combat the “I’m only one person” attitude that many well-meaning people adopt? I know a lot of people who at least seem to care about the state of affairs in the U.S. regarding immigration (legal and illegal), who don’t know (or is it don’t care to find out) how to make their small voice heard among those lobbyists and special interest groups.
I think that the answer, at least in part, is that those well meaning people have to stop caring whether they are ‘only one voice’. If they care and they have a voice, these people need to start shouting. A few small voices can make a huge impact.
Consider the effect that webloggers have had since their early days. A few small voices have changed politics and news reporting forever, whether or not anyone wants to realize or accept that fact.
I, for one, have taken that idea to heart. My writing here may only reach a small audience, but if one member of that audience is convinced by what I say here, then that is one more person ‘fighting the same fight’ that I am.
Whatever else may be true, none of us who are aware and care can allow apathy or defeatism to overcome us. It is far too easy to succumb to the ‘I’m only one person’ mentality, but consider how much worse off those of us who knew and did nothing will be after the things we knew were coming actually happen.
Ultimately, the answer to the ‘I’m only one person’ crowd is to talk. Talk to your family. Talk to your friends. Talk to your congress people. Talk to anyone who will listen. If you talk to 100 people and only one listens, then there are two, and that is better than one. eventually if enough ‘ones’ become ‘twos’ then there will be enough people who care and try to do something about the problems our nation faces.
DLH