McCain Report

Isn't it ironic that this country was founded on...immigration? I know, that is a canned phrase, used by lefties pushing some crazy agenda. But it is also true. Cultural diversity has never been a burden to those with open minds and hearts. Cultural diversity offers a type of education that is not available in schools alone. It brings in new ideas, new technologies, new opportunities to this country.

But for some reason, segments of America have not been able to see that. Historically, we have been resistant to allowing those who do not look like us share a piece of the pie. Why? Is it that we feel threatened? Do we truly think that those from "away" are dangerous, that they will hurt us, take away our jobs, our language, our livelihoods?

It is interesting how history always repeats itself. From the "know-nothings" of the mid-1800s, who opposed Catholic immigration into this country enough to form a super-secret society, to the legislators of the 1900s who saw fit to limit immigration to a dwindle when the "wrong" types of people started coming.

And with all the progress made over the course of the 20th century, the steps toward tolerance, we still fear people who are not clones of ourselves.

I write this with sadness because of the speech I read today that John McCain gave in Colorado. He has, as some of you have likely noted, changed his tone on immigration. We now learn that the heat he took from the American public might have had something to do with that.
In his speech, McCain said:

“I have never seen an issue that has inflamed the passions of the American people the way the issue of immigration reform has, ever, including Iraq. I have never heard such rhetoric. We have never received death threats before like I received”

And in doing some research on this speech, I find that "Americans" are outraged enough to post the following comments in a blog discussing the death threats at the freerepublic.com:

"Really John? Is it really unbelievable that Americans don’t want it taken over by illegals?", one blogger said.

According to another:

"Politicians are selling our sovereignty for their own political and financial gain, and then they are in awe and wonderment that many citizens are irate.
Sometimes it seems the politicians just go insane when they get elected."

Finally, perhaps the most ridiculous of all, is a post by "Sheana":

"Let me see if I can find some sympathy for poor John McCain. Nope, he is not dead like those poor kids in Newark. Their blood is on his hands."

Wow. Did you know that about 80% of people arrested for a violent crime are male? And 9/10 individuals incarcerated in correctional facilities are male? Yet, I advocate having males in this country. My hands, strangely enough, are clean.

Immigration is a touchy subject. Hard to defend illegal behavior. But, we should recognize that McCain's solution does not involve amnesty for law breakers. What he proposes is to diffuse a touchy and as of now unstable situation. To do nothing, to increase "border patrol", isn't going to solve our problems.

We need to think with our minds and not our hearts.