We do have a serious problem with illegal immigration. I know. I work in a public school system where my elementary school kids cannot always remember the name by which they were enrolled. They don't have addresses or phone numbers, (which constantly change by the way) because parents don't want to be found. Families move around the city frequently to avoid detection. Many live with legal relatives or friends-two or three families may live together, sleeping in shifts, waiting in the Kmart parking lot for an employer looking for cheap labor.
We can't have it both ways. Large employers hire illegal immigrants because the deal is good. Immigrants are hard workers, the pay it worth fourfold in Mexico, the employer pays no taxes, social security and below minimum wage. Many times laborers are cheated in the agreement, but employers know they can't do anything about it.
Employers need to feel the consequences of hiring illegal immigrants. Ignorance is no excuse. Neither is the greed employers harbor when hiring illegals. Americans need to ask themselves-"At what point do we acknowledge the need for fair and equitable treatment for workers, a fair profit for employers, and a just employment system?
At the present time the greed in our country is so rampant and blatant, citizens have a right to be angry.
But they seem to be killing the wrong messenger.
Illegal immigration isn't the biggest problem we have right now.
It is our willingness to forfeit our own freedoms to address a problem which could be easily dealt with.
George Bush made the invasion of our privacy quite palatable to us. We still haven't made a peep about the fact we can be arrested under the guise of terrorist, placed in confinement, refused the right to be told of our
crimes, refused a trial, and held indefinitely. In addition, our phone calls, emails and any other correspondence can be monitored without our knowledge at any time.
US citizens, forget the wired and bugged White House of the Nixon Administration. History is not exactly a priority of standardized testing, so we seem doomed to repeat our mistakes.
The McCarthy era spread the same paranoia, anger, and ignorance as the Rush Limbaughs of the present day craziness.
When an entire state legislator votes to required a birth certificate prior to placement on a ballot, all based on the bizarro birth certificate fairy tale concocted by crazy media, we are out of control.
These are frightning times for Americans. Misdirected anger , fueled mostly by ignorance, is leading us down a cliff, lemming like, and the obviousness of it is seen by the entire world, except for those it will impact the most-us.
Profiling of any sort leads to the era of "armbands"-shall we continue to lead to our destiny?-Hitlerish choices, to segregate and isolate our nation?
The simplistic philosophy, "You don't have anything to worry about if you haven't done anything wrong" is a great and deadly fallacy.
Not all Hispanics have carmel colored skin and dark hair.
It could be you-picked up because you don't carry your social security card, or "proof" of citizenship by some disgruntled cop, locked up, unjustly, until you can prove your citizenship.
Of course, you don't believe it.
Therein lies the frightning prospect of making laws which oppress rather than fixing a problem.
I wish I could understand better how perfectly reasonable people , some of whom I love dearly, fueled by fear and anger, are willing to give up the liberty and freedoms we all hold so dearly just to feel like they have a modicum of control.
Vengeance does not steer well, my comrades.It moves full boar ahead into any obstacle, ignoring the helpless and the innocent.
Anger is a dangerous engine to drive any decision.
Think about that. When was the last time you made an excellent decision in the midst of rage?
