Posts Tagged ‘justice’

If you haven’t seen the tongue-in-cheek fictional documentary, A Day Without a Mexican, you shouldn’t wait any longer. A strange disappearance of all immigrants brings life as we know it to a standstill. Anarchy ensues. And, surprise, it’s more than fiction – in Alabama.

What they are learning the hard way is that the crack down on all those illegals, and by extension the legals who have illegals as family members, is that the necessary work force has been gutted. No, they are not taking the jobs of real Americans. Yes, they work the jobs nobody else wants. And they do it with enough hands and cheaply  enough that our whole chain of commerce and service industries come to a stand still without them.

This is the most enormous political red herring of the decade. This is how the sound bites go: If we only get a handle on the illegal immigration issue all our problems will magically go away. Surprise, it’s just the opposite. We are incredibly dependent on them … as we abuse them. No, they are not the crux of the problem. And a crack down, the type of which intimidates and harasses, simply cuts off the proverbial nose to spite the face.

I used to live in the country of Texas.  I discovered something very interesting living there. No matter how big the walls are on the border and no matter how many border patrols scout out the human smugglers and illegals, everybody really just looks the other way. Every Texan knows that they need those people. It doesn’t matter if its for agriculture, building trades, child care, landscaping, restaurants or car washes, the labor is essential. They can’t do without it. And their work isn’t taking work away from anybody else.

Politicians posture in public, acting tough toward immigration issues. But in reality, they think differently. Everyone does. This is a fake issue. And when people act on a fake issue, as though it’s real, like in Alabama, they not only hurt the strangers in our midst, but themselves.

That’s how it always is. You might remember the stern injunction in the Hebrew scriptures about the way strangers should be treated: Remember, O Israel, you were once an alien and stranger in Egypt. So you shall treat aliens in your own land with compassion. You will not take advantage of them. In fact, the treatment you dole out will be the treatment you get back. Count on it.

Like in Alabama. Or anywhere this happens. Let those with ears, hear.

But you’d better watch the trailer for yourself –   http://www.ovguide.com/movies_tv/a_day_without_a_mexican.htm

We have been shackled to the past in our policies relating to the Middle East. In addition to the presence of an arms industry that wants to sell lots and lots of military hardware to certain partners in the region, there are other challenges. We must redefine our relationship to both Israel and its neighbors.

Security must be present for all, but so must a reasonable quality of life. This means balancing the needs of both Israel and Palestinians. And once we show a balanced policy in the region we will remove yet another persistent cause of rage in the Arab street. The radicalized mosques and madrases will have one less reason to wage jihad; in their mind, a righteous struggle against those who oppress their brothers.

Good first step: disestablish all the entitled lobbyists who insist on only one way to go about this. We have many friends in the Middle East. It is in our interest and the interest of the entire region to find a a just peace for all the players. We cannot line up exclusively  with one side, especially if that side is seen not only to seek security, but exploit the dis-empowered.

Christian Arabs are fleeing the region for good reason; in the mind of their attackers they are associated with the West. It is a mistaken assumption. But until we change our posture that won’t change. In fact, until we change our posture most things won’t change.