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Emotion Gone Awry

It seems that we humans are impetuous and emotional creatures.  Sometimes impulsiveness is fine but it’s rarely useful when it comes to decision-making.   Decisions that are made on the spur of the moment without adequate contemplation are usually not the best decisions. Certainly, emotion is valuable for making us human, but experience and history provides proof that decisions that are made when emotion is the primary determinant usually end in disaster. Unless one is a causal determinist, making a good and sound decision requires careful thought, objective deliberation and well-founded reasoning. Unfortunately, we are seeing very little of these crucial elements being employed when it comes to the immigration dilemma.  We appear to be driven by unchecked emotion in our decisions on how to respond to the current situation of dealing with illegal immigration. Of course, there are those who try to make practical sense of it but their arguments are smothered by the images of crying children and heartbroken mothers who have been separated from their families; images that make for good news stories but precipitate conflict within our society.

For the sake of our country there are times when we must objectively as possible analyze our challenges based on reason.  It might sound impersonal and even cruel but in every situation we must place a priority on the health and safety of our citizens as a whole rather than the well-being of individuals or specific groups of individuals, even if it means appearing to be uncompassionate. We have laws in this country, laws that are designed to keep our population safe.  When someone breaks the law, they must face the consequences of their actions.  There have been occasions when a mother or father has stolen something, perhaps food or a little money in order to buy sustenance for their children.  However, no matter what the motive, they have broken the law, a law intended to protect the general population and they must pay the consequences for that action.  We separate the lawbreaker from their children during the time of their incarceration. That’s what the law demands.
The laws enacted for immigration have been created to keep us safe from those who might come into the country and threaten the general population: terrorists, members of organized crime and gang members to name a few.  We are already seeing the result of organized crime and gang activities in Chicago.  This is only a fraction of the threat that these groups pose.  Certainly, the vast majority of those that are coming through our borders are not a part of these factions but the law is the law and we MUST enforce our laws without exception.  Families are not being separated as a deterrent, but it could be and should be a deterrent as a consequence of breaking the law.  During this time will individuals suffer? Certainly.  But we cannot afford to be impetuous, only seeing the immediate repercussions of immigration enforcement.  We must be aware that what we do today will affect the next generation and future generations as well.  We cannot afford to be a country with open borders. We must see the whole picture, not just the isolated images of those who must suffer in order to maintain our freedom and security.
There was a time when ”Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” was possible but times have changed and that time has passed.  We are a country facing over-population, a poor educational system, depleted natural resources, and national indebtedness. We cannot afford to be the world’s savior.  We cannot afford to be compassionate without limits. We must be pragmatic and realistic.

Many of these migrants are running from countries where violence is inconceivable, but they must deal with their own problems. Running away is not a solution for them, nor is it one for us.  If we allow open borders, if we do not enforce our own laws, we, too, might find ourselves fleeing to another country to escape the crime and killing in America.
What we are witnessing might appear to be extreme measures but history tells us that it sometimes requires extreme action in order to establish long-term moderation. If we do not enforce the law and make ALL those who break the law subject to uniform consequences, they will continue to attempt to come into our country illegally and our problems will only increase.  This is the only reasonable solution for a country that must learn to say “NO”.

 

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