Illegal immigrants and the Land of Immigrants...

I was staring at a CNN tv screen while I was running in the gym today. Lou Dobbs was on and going crazy about how all these illegal immigrants were crossing into the US through our unprotected border with Mexico. He was raving about how he couldn't believe that they administered the citizenship ceremony in Spanish sometimes, or that the Mexican government was asking the US government to make sure the new voluntary border patrol didn't abuse Mexicans caught crossing illegally. So much for Lady Liberty saying "give me your tired, poor, and huddled masses" and welcoming the world to a land of golden opportunities through Ellis Island.

"Immigrant X-ing?"

I caught myself chuckling because it was just ironic that the land of immigrants, the so called "melting pot" of the world, would be so concerned with other immigrants coming over. Being an immigrant myself (the legal kind!) I couldn't help but keep thinking about this. The more I thought about it though, it began to occur to me that it wasn't really funny, and that maybe this really was a big deal. I mean some two million immigrants try to cross over every year, and apparently the success rate is only about fifty percent. Not to mention that its not exactly like flying in on a 747, these people go through hell to come here. You always hear these horrendous stories of the abuses they suffer at the hands of smugglers or God knows what else. Don't believe me? Read this yourself!

Anyway, as I looked all this up, I figured that "illegal immigrant" thing deserved some more thought because it was way more complex than I could have imagined in my state of ignorance. I could see myself agreeing with both sides. For one thing, the US has a right to control its borders doesn't it? I mean, I don't want terrorists to have a fifty percent chance of slipping through the border either. There is also the idea that these immigrants are flooding the US market with cheap labor, and apparently these laborers save a lot of their money and send it back to their own countries in the form of remittances. I must admit I had heard of this before while doing my college thesis project in Guatemala. In fact, those communities are greatly impacted by the incoming cash and outgoing people. Anyway, the US could in essence, accuse the Mexicans of unfair trade practices.

Ok, so I agree with the idea that the US is a sovereign nation that has the right to protect its borders and markets, but what about the fact that our economy vitally depends on these illegal aliens? There was this funny movie that came out not long ago about what would happen to California if all of the Latinos just disappeared one day. What would American farmers do without all the cheap labor that provided by migrant workers for example? Besides I wonder how many American's really want to do the jobs they complain about the illegal aliens taking from them. I'm sorry, but I don't see too many American's getting in line to be migrant farm workers, house maids, or do other menial jobs like cleaning hotel rooms!

So what's going on here? If we need them in our economy why go through all of this illegal business? It seems a little stupid I think. We need international students in our universities, but we don't make them sneak into the country first! Why the charade? I mean go ahead and shape up the border so that people who aren't supposed to get in don't. Do it well, so that people stop trying, and let do it with official personnel who can be held accountable to standards, not some random vigilantes! If its important enough fund the personnel.

But lets cut the crap and admit who we need and who we don't, and let the ones we really need come in minus the whole "smuggling in and living undocumented lives" part! If that means they have access to our schools and other public services so be it. If we need them then we should pay some benefits. All I'm saying is let's be above board about the whole thing cause its pretty underhanded how we're doing things now. We want to have our cake (their cheap labor) and eat it too (pretend they are parasites mooching off our country)! And that doesn't seem fair.

So what responsibilities do immigrants have though? Should they have to learn English? What about assimilation in general? Well people from other places came to America to be left alone when America was founded, and generally I think people should be left to do as they please... so long as they don't violate the laws of this nation. So assimilate our laws, but whether you buy into Monday Night football or not is up to you.

Most Americans are generally X-Americans who are proud of their X-heritage. ( Fill in Asian, Indian, African, or some other nationality for X) This is included in being American, that is, this mystical quality of being an American transcends where your grandparents, parents, or maybe you yourself, came from. If you can't define what an American is how can you assimilate to being one? And c'mon! From a practical standpoint this would be impossible to enforce without all sorts of civil liberties questions and big brother problems. So, assimilation to me is a mute point.

What about the language though? Should you have to learn English to be American? Well, are they going to accommodate my language if I go to some other country? Unlikely. I mean when I came to America I had to learn English. Maybe that's one definable characteristic of being American. How would you know what the laws were, or who to vote for, or which road to turn on if you didn't speak English in America. Its one of the main things that hold our diverse nation together. If you had to serve in the army, you'd have to know English. If you want to learn in school, you need to speak English. Hell, if you are arrested by border patrol, it'd probably be helpful to be able to speak English. So yeah, I think that its fair to ask somebody who is taking the oath of citizenship to do so in English. I mean we expect you to know who our first president was among so many other random facts, so is it really that unreasonable? I don't think so, but should we facilitate this process by making ESL (English as a second language) type classes easily available, or giving people enough time? Absolutely!

So that concludes my initial thoughts on illegal immigrants. I'm sure there is much to think about that I haven't considered, but so far I've determined the following:

1. The US should secure our border with US Govt. personnel who can be held accountable.
   
2. The US must admit that we need the cheap labor in our economy, and let the number of immigrants we need enter legally.
3. We as a society need to admit that there is no definable thing as an American, so we can't expect newcomers to become something we can even explain.
   
4. It is reasonable to require immigrants to this country seeking to become permanent residents or citizens to learn the English language, but we should help those seeking to learn.

The Motorcycle Diaries and a thought experiment...

I just watched the movie Motorcycle Diaries the other day, and it really made me think about a lot of things about life in general. So this movie is generally about two guys that travel across South America for no real reason other than to see it. If you want a more legit plot summary click here.

The movie had really beautiful panoramic views of South America, and it really made you feel free. Like you could just drop everything too and head out on your own grand adventure. Take some chances, and see what you get. See things that you don't expect, and be forever changed. I know, I know, probably a bit too idealistic, but honestly why not? It occurred to me while I was thinking about how attached I was to the coat I lost this weekend, that I was really attached to my life too, in general: the place I live in, the people I interact with, how things are, what I do. It represents the familiar and the comfortable. I guess there was a time not long ago, even this place was unfamiliar and basically that sucked... at first. The whole having to get used to a new area and meeting new people, but once you get used to it, you can't imagine not being here. That how it always is. Everybody seems to hate their first semester in college. You miss your high school friends and your home etc. Then look at the same people in their senior year of it. They are all depressed that they are going to graduate, and have to move on. Most people (I know, not everybody) is like this.

In all fairness, older people have families and responsibilities so they can't just get up and go explore a continent, but I think a lot of people could go and do something like that, but they are afraid. They think they have all of these responsibilities and everything, but they really don't. I mean, it would just require me to quit my job and go. I would have to finish out my lease and whatever other financial commitments I had, but so many of those bills would go away if I didn't live here. I mean you wouldn't have to pay for gas, if you weren't here to drive your car, etc. So really, think about it, what would it really take for you to just get up and go. Try it, even if you aren't planning to get up and go, it might be an interesting thought experiment.

I bet most people would find it too hard to just go. I say that because haven't we all felt the urge at some point to do this, but how many actually ever do it? I would say most people don't end up following through on their ambitious plans and dreams. Why not? Fear? The status quo bias aka inertia? People give in; they settle. The day to day becomes so consuming that the overall picture becomes less important. I wonder if the same will happen to me? Or maybe, its already happened? I can only hope not.. not just yet...

Maybe take this boat and head to Thailand?

The Lost Overcoat...

Nothing significant really. I went out last night with a group of friends to some bar/lounge. The place didn't have a coat check, and most people had left their coats in a pile on one of the couches. I added mine to the pile and went on with my night. The night ended and when I went to retrieve it from the pile.. ALAS... IT WAS GONE! I searched frantically with the help of my friends to no avail, but miraculously (at least to me) one of my friends was handed by some mysterious person they most valuable thing that was in my coat, my keys. I left the place with the one coat that was lying on the couch after all the others had gone; it looked very similar to mine, and had I been more drunk I might have walked out with it by mistake. I'm sure this has happened to many others; in fact, I know so. What could be more common than trying to stumble out at the end of the night and picking the wrong black overcoat out of fifteen other similar black overcoats. I called the place today to see if anyone has called about their coat. The girl on the other end said that no one had, but that their lost and found had many coats and that I should check. Well, I figured, its just a coat, and besides, (again, I still can't believe how) I got my keys.

That's the end of it right? I mean, what can I really do? I'll go check the lost and found, but what are the chances of it being there? For all intents and purposes the coat is gone. It wasn't super expensive or anything either. I can probably replace it with $100 to $150. No small sum, but nothing insurmountable or crippling. Replacing all the keys would have been much worse. Or on a really unlucky day I would have had my wallet and cell phone in there too. So yeah it sucks.. now I'm going to have to spend a hundred bucks on something that I already had, but honestly I've had the coat for 4 years or something, and it was getting time to replace it anyway. I mean the buttons kept falling off, and it was too "college-ey." So that's the end of it.. right? right? Why the hell would I write a post about it? Cause I have nothing else in my insignificant life to write about? Maybe, but if I can be existentialist about it, is there anything really significant? But lets not go there, and I ask you to give me the benefit of the doubt that that's not it. Cause I just want to annoy you? That could be it too, but again lets assume I have better things to do. So then why?

Because I miss it. Isn't that stupid; it was just a coat! But I miss it nonetheless. Its funny how human beings get attached to objects. They come to have "sentimental" value. Not coincidentally, I couldn't help thinking of Nikolai Gogol's famous short story titled The Overcoat.
In my mind, this coat was is associated with a very particular part of my life. I got it during the winter of my first year of college, and now I've lost it during the first year of life after college. It has been there for so many "important" events in my life. The person that bought it was very different than the person that lost it. I guess the college period is like that for everybody: you change.. a lot!

If I look through some pictures from college, I can point it out in hundreds. I didn't really like it initially. It was the quintessential coat that everybody at my college had. The standard woolen black pea-coat. The "now I'm in college, and I want to look sophisticated" coat. The "my ski jacked just isn't gonna cut it now that I'm an young adult" coat. Maybe it was just me. I called it my "fag jacket." [yes, I realize this is politically incorrect, but what in college was really politically correct? Rest assured that no offense is intended] I wore it when I needed to look preppy. As college wore on, I tended to wear it more and more. Then, when I started working, well, it was pretty much the standard look, so I wore it pretty regularly. I didn't realize that I had become so attached to it.

The Lost Overcoat

Ok so I'm exaggerating a bit too much here! I'm not like curled up in a ball crying about it or anything. I am just surprised how much it had meant to me. I'm sure I'll get a new one and forget all about this old one, but I wonder what other objects in my life I have a similar attachment to?... Anyway, I thought that if I said a proper goodbye to the coat in the form of this blog, it would make me feel better. Now that I've done that; I do feel better. The coat will be missed, but life will go on. Besides its not really gone. Some random person is probably wearing it right now, and I guess its just as well that it be passed on. Maybe they'll be writing about it to when sometime down the road they lose it to somebody else.