From a a freinds blog on myspace...long ass one too...let em know what you think.
I've been chewing on this one for a few days, ever since I heard our morning show here in St. Louis (the MJ Morning Show) discuss it late last week. I wanted to make sure that I had everything completely thought out before I wrote anything about it. So, without further delay, here we go:
Yesterday, May 1st, over one million immigrant workers around the country staged a walkout from their jobs, trying to prove the point that the U.S. could not survive without its immigrant worker population. In some business sectors, it worked and businesses were forced to close for the day. While I personally do not believe that this was the best course of action, I have to respect the coordinated effort to pull it off.
So much has been made, especially since September 11th (I have a complete other theory on that, but won't post it on this blog since it is accessible to my listeners), about immigration and the high number of illegal immigrants living in our country. Certain radical groups believe that it is necessary to resort to the actions of the 7th century Chinese Zhou Dynasty and construct an enormous wall along our border with Mexico to keep people from walking across the border into the United States illegally. In my opinion, that is the worst possible thing that could be done, on multiple levels. Besides the outstanding costs of something of that magnitude, what would it really accomplish? Wouldn't the mere presence of an obstacle of that nature actually serve to increase the desire to defeat it and come into this country? After all, one of the biggest motivators of the human race is being presented with a seemingly insurmountable task and trying to overcome it, right?
Outside of that, what message does that send to the rest of the world? I mean, let's break everything down to its simplest form for just a minute.... When you truly think about it, each and every so-called "American" is nothing more than an immigrant ourselves. Our nation was founded by immigrants fleeing from the tyrannical rule of the King of England. Our population was further increased by the scores of people that arrived via Ellis Island in New York throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. I would venture a guess that probably ninety percent or more of the current United States population can trace their ancestry back to an immigrant, someone that entered this country in search of opportunities not present in their homeland.
But wait a minute, doesn't that sound familiar?
Of course it does. While I do recognize that some of the people that cross our southern border each and every day are here simply to try to take advantage of our welfare system, a greater percentage of those people come here to try to make something greater of themselves than what they had in their home nation, whether it be Mexico or points further south. That being said, what if the Native Americans had managed to have a huge wall constructed along the coasts, the rivers, and the land borders of what would become the United States of America back before the Anglo-Saxon man and woman arrived here? Yes, it's an extreme example, but my point is clear, correct?
So what do we do about immigration? MJ, on the show this morning, made reference to Mexican policy on immigration at its southern borders and the fact that they will not hesitate to send people back into their home nations and they will not hesitate to jail those who repeatedly attempt to enter their country. He repeatedly made the point that there was a double standard in play, in that Mexico has such a harsh policy on immigration into their country, but yet expects the United States to be an open door. Now, I -- of course -- respect MJ as an air talent and often agree with what he says, but in this case he pissed me off.
It's real simple... the infastructure does not exist in Mexico to handle those immigrants. It simply does not exist. The per capita income (PCI) of Mexico is one-fourth that of the United States. The economic structure is not available to handle a rapid influx of people coming into its country. Jobs are hard to come by in Mexico and unemployment among its born citizens is high. The United States, on the other hand (and MJ himself pointed this out repeatedly), has an unemployment rate of only 4.7 percent -- and that percentage basically is that segment of the population that either can not work or refuses to work. By and large, if someone wants to work in this country, the opportunity is there. That is why a double standard is occurring... the U.S. can handle the extra job seekers, Mexico can't.
So what does it all mean?
In my opinion, if a person wants to cross the border and come to this nation in attempt to better their own life and the lives of their family, then there should be nothing stopping them. The argument that "the illegal alien is stealing jobs from good American workers" is bullshit. Will an immigrant work for less than most Americans? Absolutely, but that's not their fault. The fault there lies with the American business owner that is so concerned with their bottom line that they'll make every effort to take advantage of those who are looking to make a better life for themselves and will intentionally offer such ridiculously low hourly rates to these people.
Many Americans have this belief that everything should be spoon fed to them and that they should be automatically earning $30,000+ every year for flipping burgers, working the counter at a gas station, or stocking shelves at the local department store. Nobody wants to start at the bottom and truly earn a living anymore, which is the root of the problem that so many people have with immigrants that are willing to do just that. Have you ever noticed that so many of those who appear on television making comments against immigration are those who you would expect to see on a typical Jerry Springer episode? They're the kind of person that I'm talking about when I talk about those who are expecting to be handed a job paying $30,000+ right out of the box.
You are what you make of yourself. Don't be raising such a bitch fest over others who are doing nothing other than attempting to better themselves if you're not willing to make an effort to better your own life. Don't have a raging sexual appetite without exercising common sense and pop out a gaggle of kids, then expect me to support you on welfare while you sit on your damn ass, not even attempting to secure strong employment. Don't spit racial trash at those who look different than you who might just so happen to be doing better at this game called life, simply because you're too damn lazy. In short, if you really want to get to the bottom of the hatred in the immigration issue, Americans need to look in the mirror.
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
Something else that MJ has been talking about on the show that has me seriously rubbed the wrong way is the existence of a Spanish language version of the U.S. National Anthem. His big thing is that he believes the National Anthem, since it was originally written by Francis Scott Key in English, should never be translated into another language. Again, I call bullshit.
Whether MJ likes it or not, the National Anthem is written material. Written material can be -- and has always been -- translated into any language on this planet for enjoyment by any person on this planet. The whole point of that is that this is no different than the discussion we've already had on this blog about immigration.
The United States of America is, to borrow and old cliche, a melting pot of hundreds, possibly thousands, of different cultures. Why then, should the song of this nation of all these different cultures not be translated into the languages of those cultures? Sure, the "official version" of the Star Spangled Banner will always be English, simply because the "official" language of the United States of America is English. But, what is the big deal about having that song of such a diverse nation available in other languages so that every single person can truly understand what is being said in the verses?
Oh, wait, I get it.... this argument that the only language the National Anthem should be available in is English is all part of the Great American Brainwashing in that everything we do as a nation is absolutely right and all other thoughts are wrong! That must be why the most technologically advanced products that we all depend on each and every day were invented by "native born" Americans! (Newsflash: Many were NOT) That must be why American school children rank first in the world in standardized Mathematics, Science, and Reading testing! (Newsflash: We don't) Has anyone ever stopped to consider that perhaps one of the reason a good portion of the world hates us is that we think way too mightily of ourselves and stick our nose into all kinds business that isn't ours, all in the desire to "Americanize" the rest of the world?
(At this point in this blog, let me make one thing very clear before I start getting hate mail out the ying yang: I'm as patriotic as the next person, but I'm also a realist and someone who believes that the best interests of a great America may just lie in dealing with what we can control and less of what may just be a financially or politically based desire.)
That being said, do I believe that there ought to be a Spanish version of the Star Spangled Banner? Absolutely, just as I believe there ought to be a French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Swahili.... version. The Star Spangled Banner is a song of unity and freedom...
So why shouldn't all those cultures within our nation, united under God (in whatever form you believe he/she/it exists), be united in song? The words are the same when translated back to the original text, the meaning is the same, the feelings and emotions of the person singing it are the same, right?
Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave a comment, whether you agree or whether you think I'm a flippin' idiot.
Yesterday, May 1st, over one million immigrant workers around the country staged a walkout from their jobs, trying to prove the point that the U.S. could not survive without its immigrant worker population. In some business sectors, it worked and businesses were forced to close for the day. While I personally do not believe that this was the best course of action, I have to respect the coordinated effort to pull it off.
So much has been made, especially since September 11th (I have a complete other theory on that, but won't post it on this blog since it is accessible to my listeners), about immigration and the high number of illegal immigrants living in our country. Certain radical groups believe that it is necessary to resort to the actions of the 7th century Chinese Zhou Dynasty and construct an enormous wall along our border with Mexico to keep people from walking across the border into the United States illegally. In my opinion, that is the worst possible thing that could be done, on multiple levels. Besides the outstanding costs of something of that magnitude, what would it really accomplish? Wouldn't the mere presence of an obstacle of that nature actually serve to increase the desire to defeat it and come into this country? After all, one of the biggest motivators of the human race is being presented with a seemingly insurmountable task and trying to overcome it, right?
Outside of that, what message does that send to the rest of the world? I mean, let's break everything down to its simplest form for just a minute.... When you truly think about it, each and every so-called "American" is nothing more than an immigrant ourselves. Our nation was founded by immigrants fleeing from the tyrannical rule of the King of England. Our population was further increased by the scores of people that arrived via Ellis Island in New York throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. I would venture a guess that probably ninety percent or more of the current United States population can trace their ancestry back to an immigrant, someone that entered this country in search of opportunities not present in their homeland.
But wait a minute, doesn't that sound familiar?
Of course it does. While I do recognize that some of the people that cross our southern border each and every day are here simply to try to take advantage of our welfare system, a greater percentage of those people come here to try to make something greater of themselves than what they had in their home nation, whether it be Mexico or points further south. That being said, what if the Native Americans had managed to have a huge wall constructed along the coasts, the rivers, and the land borders of what would become the United States of America back before the Anglo-Saxon man and woman arrived here? Yes, it's an extreme example, but my point is clear, correct?
So what do we do about immigration? MJ, on the show this morning, made reference to Mexican policy on immigration at its southern borders and the fact that they will not hesitate to send people back into their home nations and they will not hesitate to jail those who repeatedly attempt to enter their country. He repeatedly made the point that there was a double standard in play, in that Mexico has such a harsh policy on immigration into their country, but yet expects the United States to be an open door. Now, I -- of course -- respect MJ as an air talent and often agree with what he says, but in this case he pissed me off.
It's real simple... the infastructure does not exist in Mexico to handle those immigrants. It simply does not exist. The per capita income (PCI) of Mexico is one-fourth that of the United States. The economic structure is not available to handle a rapid influx of people coming into its country. Jobs are hard to come by in Mexico and unemployment among its born citizens is high. The United States, on the other hand (and MJ himself pointed this out repeatedly), has an unemployment rate of only 4.7 percent -- and that percentage basically is that segment of the population that either can not work or refuses to work. By and large, if someone wants to work in this country, the opportunity is there. That is why a double standard is occurring... the U.S. can handle the extra job seekers, Mexico can't.
So what does it all mean?
In my opinion, if a person wants to cross the border and come to this nation in attempt to better their own life and the lives of their family, then there should be nothing stopping them. The argument that "the illegal alien is stealing jobs from good American workers" is bullshit. Will an immigrant work for less than most Americans? Absolutely, but that's not their fault. The fault there lies with the American business owner that is so concerned with their bottom line that they'll make every effort to take advantage of those who are looking to make a better life for themselves and will intentionally offer such ridiculously low hourly rates to these people.
Many Americans have this belief that everything should be spoon fed to them and that they should be automatically earning $30,000+ every year for flipping burgers, working the counter at a gas station, or stocking shelves at the local department store. Nobody wants to start at the bottom and truly earn a living anymore, which is the root of the problem that so many people have with immigrants that are willing to do just that. Have you ever noticed that so many of those who appear on television making comments against immigration are those who you would expect to see on a typical Jerry Springer episode? They're the kind of person that I'm talking about when I talk about those who are expecting to be handed a job paying $30,000+ right out of the box.
You are what you make of yourself. Don't be raising such a bitch fest over others who are doing nothing other than attempting to better themselves if you're not willing to make an effort to better your own life. Don't have a raging sexual appetite without exercising common sense and pop out a gaggle of kids, then expect me to support you on welfare while you sit on your damn ass, not even attempting to secure strong employment. Don't spit racial trash at those who look different than you who might just so happen to be doing better at this game called life, simply because you're too damn lazy. In short, if you really want to get to the bottom of the hatred in the immigration issue, Americans need to look in the mirror.
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
Something else that MJ has been talking about on the show that has me seriously rubbed the wrong way is the existence of a Spanish language version of the U.S. National Anthem. His big thing is that he believes the National Anthem, since it was originally written by Francis Scott Key in English, should never be translated into another language. Again, I call bullshit.
Whether MJ likes it or not, the National Anthem is written material. Written material can be -- and has always been -- translated into any language on this planet for enjoyment by any person on this planet. The whole point of that is that this is no different than the discussion we've already had on this blog about immigration.
The United States of America is, to borrow and old cliche, a melting pot of hundreds, possibly thousands, of different cultures. Why then, should the song of this nation of all these different cultures not be translated into the languages of those cultures? Sure, the "official version" of the Star Spangled Banner will always be English, simply because the "official" language of the United States of America is English. But, what is the big deal about having that song of such a diverse nation available in other languages so that every single person can truly understand what is being said in the verses?
Oh, wait, I get it.... this argument that the only language the National Anthem should be available in is English is all part of the Great American Brainwashing in that everything we do as a nation is absolutely right and all other thoughts are wrong! That must be why the most technologically advanced products that we all depend on each and every day were invented by "native born" Americans! (Newsflash: Many were NOT) That must be why American school children rank first in the world in standardized Mathematics, Science, and Reading testing! (Newsflash: We don't) Has anyone ever stopped to consider that perhaps one of the reason a good portion of the world hates us is that we think way too mightily of ourselves and stick our nose into all kinds business that isn't ours, all in the desire to "Americanize" the rest of the world?
(At this point in this blog, let me make one thing very clear before I start getting hate mail out the ying yang: I'm as patriotic as the next person, but I'm also a realist and someone who believes that the best interests of a great America may just lie in dealing with what we can control and less of what may just be a financially or politically based desire.)
That being said, do I believe that there ought to be a Spanish version of the Star Spangled Banner? Absolutely, just as I believe there ought to be a French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Swahili.... version. The Star Spangled Banner is a song of unity and freedom...
So why shouldn't all those cultures within our nation, united under God (in whatever form you believe he/she/it exists), be united in song? The words are the same when translated back to the original text, the meaning is the same, the feelings and emotions of the person singing it are the same, right?
Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave a comment, whether you agree or whether you think I'm a flippin' idiot.