Build the Wall?
Most people know that “the wall” is a proposed solution to our southern border crisis, but it could also just as correctly reference the great divide Americans seem to have on this issue. The term is not just referencing our border security, it’s also presented as the solution for it. It is not. It’s an important topic for many reasons however and should be discussed. Every year, nearly 2 million people try to gain refuge in our nation through this border. It is a humanitarian and national security crisis of the highest order.
Excuse the analogy, but I think it’s relevant. Suppose you’ve lived in the same large, upscale home all your life, but it was near a neighborhood that wasn’t nearly as nice as yours. You love your home don’t want to leave it and for whatever reason, can’t move anyway. People from the other neighborhood start appearing at your door cold, hungry and desperately begging for help. Men, women, children, families all needing food and a place to stay. What would you do? Would you let them all stay indefinitely and use up your family’s resources, or would you build a wall around your home and call them all rapists and murderers? Aren’t these the choices we’ve been given? If this were happening to you (and it is) wouldn’t you find out why they were coming in the first place and try to cure the problem at the source? You obviously can’t afford to house everybody, and the Fred Flintstone technology of a wall won’t keep them from coming will it? As you know, walls can be tunneled under or scaled over as ours has been, literally thousands of times. If you had a wall around your house, wouldn’t you still lock your doors?
Although most of those reaching our borders are surely escaping atrocities and poverty, it is illogical to assume undesirables don’t come as well. Many of those undesirables are said to be bringing fentanyl and bad intentions with them. Regardless, we have real human beings escaping and experiencing unspeakable hardships, with sinister actors trying to blend in along with them, converging on us daily. It should be a top priority to tune in and fix it. This is not a partisan issue, but rather an American one. So, what’s the answer?
Shouldn’t we be having high profile meetings about this with the leaders of Mexico and the seven Central American states that produce the flood of people and pathways to our border? Aren’t these leaders responsible for causing or at least not fixing, the poor quality of life of their citizens? What are they doing about it? What are we doing about it with them? Every American should know the answer to these questions, but none does. One party has been silent and the other offers a solution that insults our intelligence. A true solution almost certainly requires more investment by American business and development, more joint security and communication and more accountability for these leaders. It must surely start there, at the source of the problem. Not only are these nations endangering their own people with failed policies, they are also now endangering ours. These discussions and the proposed solutions should be made clear to the American people and they should begin yesterday. We should demand these discussions bear fruit, and that the results are shared with all of us.
In the meantime, where’s the technology? There is about 800 miles of border to protect excluding the Rio Grande. Are we not capable of providing the high-tech security necessary for it? The answer to this question can be found at Area 51 in Nevada, a top security location used by the military. There are 2.9 million acres of virtually open space that it encompasses, and it is off limits to the public. If you doubt that they’re serious, take the family out there some time, throw a blanket anywhere on the ground and have a picnic. It is a near certainty that before you open the coleslaw, you’ll have two SUV’s staring down at you. In addition, they will have run your plates, vin etc. and know everything about you before you even know they are there. This advanced technology is not at the border but should be along with vastly increased manpower and resources. The fact that none of this is happening or even being discussed, is proof that Americans are getting played. It’s politics over country. What a great campaign issue!
Wouldn’t you support putting increased manpower and resources down there ASAP to help manage and reduce the level of human suffering and security risks? Of course you would and so would most Americans. When a bi-partisan Senate bill was presented to do just that several months ago, it was not even allowed a vote in the House. Although the bill was almost certainly not perfect, any reasonable person would know it has to help a great deal and at least it’s a start. When a party screams that border security is in a crisis and then impedes the resources to help, their motives are not noble, but they are transparent. When the other party appears to ignore, or downplay it for years, we have a political game that is being played on us all.
The American people deserve better and so do our overwhelmed border personnel.