more ramblings. . .
This is my response to my friend who emailed me the writing below. Read his first and then mine if you want it all to flow correctly, or do whatever you want. Its a fee country, right??
Hey bud,
I started reading this morning and I didn’t get a chance to finish what I had started. I do agree with a large percentage of what you say and I tend to be sympathetic when it comes to the genuine Hispanics who are here trying to make a living for/with their family in the USA. I know that these people add a great deal to the economy and the ever-evolving culture of not only being American but also, being Californian. For these people I would venture to say that they make up the majority of the families here now. I have the distinct pleasure to work with some first and second-generation hispanics/latin Americans. Their stories of there fathers or grand fathers sneaking into this country in the dead of night or risking life and limb riding in a cramped car in some "compartment" for an ungodly amount of hours. All of this to reap what our founding generation called the land of opportunity. The interesting thing to me is why are all of these people still coming to America?? If there is a place in the world where there is no war and everything is peaceful why aren’t millions fleeing to this oasis for a rest on their soul. I know where you speak of isn’t the most perfect place and guessing by what you have hinted at you can do anything as long as you get enough money to sustain yourself. Not a whole lot, not too little, just enough.
But, my friend in my opinion here is where the rubber meets the road. You live in a country that was not born into prosperity and has had long lived rituals in place for thousands of years. America is a land of greed. THAT and that alone is why people sneak, run, swim and put everything on the line to be in this place. They know that in this land of green (not a typo) you can go to work and do what you were doing in Mexico for fifty cents a day for four dollars an hour, a vast improvement if you can get it. Now this doesn’t discount the people that have come into this country and assimilated into our society and learned our language and become legitimate Americans. For those people who now sit back and enjoy the fruits of coming to America either by being naturalized or going through the rigorous but, intentional citizenship process this does not apply to them. Its the small percentage that you briefly touched on that take something that could be good and make it one of the hottest political issues of our day. Those who would come into our country only to profit from it whether it be Mexicans, Africans, Canadians or any other person are not welcome here from this person. I don’t want people coming into this country and taking advantage of what makes our country great. I don’t want people here living in the US for short periods of time minimally investing in our economy only here to satisfy there hunger for a quick dollar only to dash across the border again and investing in there so called "improving" economy. If there economy is improving and life is supposed to be better than why do they continue to come across? Vicente Fox doesn’t want those people to stay in Mexico, 50 billion dollars a year is moved across the border from people living here and sending money back to be spent in Mexico.
Is there an answer to this problem?? I don’t think there will ever be a good enough system in place as long as there are jobs that Mexicans can do here for higher wages than in Mexico. The need for those people is great but there has to be a good system in place that can allow them to travel between our country and their country freely. I don’t know the answer and I don’t even think the people who are supposed to have the answers have this one down. Its a double edged sword, you loose that labor and your cost of living goes up because we have to employ white people to do that work and they will demand higher wages costing us more. If you develop a system where we grant amnesty to everyone who comes across every couple of years than your asking for more people to come across and the thing that they are coming across for is going to go away. The great thing about Spain and the reason that I want to visit is because the mind set is different and just enjoying life is a priority. In America we will squander the rest of our lives working for a measly dollar that in the end has never made us happy but has made our country great and prosperous. If we get anything in this life its the ability to live everyday to its fullest and if your lucky meet someone that takes your mediocre to extraordinary. Other than that everything else is a crapshoot. Now, I have typed too much and need to stop with no clear answer. It doesn’t seem right that there are a small group of people driving this but, in this country that is so driven based on greed and want the money is always going to be there, so there will always be all types of people willing to do whatever it takes to make that dollar.
Raymond Auld
I was recently forwarded an interesting petition that asked for me to enter
my name and forward it on so that we could petition to set laws that would
make it worse for illegal immigrants in the US. I don’t have to think very
hard about my response to this petition, although it is drastically
different from what it would have been, oh say, 10 months ago. Let me
explain.
I would actually have to decline signing this petition for several reasons -
first of which I don’t think we should abolish amnesty and social help for
illegal immigrants. We ought to find some other ways of improving the
system as well as encouraging legality. However, becoming a legal citizen
is far more difficult than you might know - not to mention that the majority
of these people are hard working people who are just wanting to live a
better life than the ones they have in their country. I used to be one of
the first to jump on this type of bandwagon and be completely against all
illegal immigration stuff - however, since moving to Spain I’ve seen things
in so many new lights. Spain makes it very difficult to get papers (need I
remind you that I myself am an illegal immigrant at the moment) yet they
also provide COMPLETELY FREE health services to anyone who registers as
living in the country. Every few years they offer an amnesty and thousands
of hardworking honest people become legal citizens and add to the tax pot.
If you think about our social security problem at the moment, the hundreds
of thousands of illegal immigrants in the US would greatly help with
contributions. I need also remind you that you only think of Mexicans -
why? What have they done to you? Why does the petition say "Senor Fox"
instead of all the other countries that have allowed illegal immigration to
the US. I might remind you that much of your culture has been positively
influenced by the Mexicans around you. Move to Spain and youll see the
differences - a good burrito is almost impossible to find, spicy food is
absent - and oh...you didnt realize you speak quite a bit of Spanish now
did you? For example - whats that little bug that flies around and sticks
his long needle like mouth into your skin and sucks your blood? A mosquito
you say...well so do the Spanish! And I promise you they were saying it
first. Many of the words you use today have been brought to you by your
local Mexican neighbor. Yet you are so quick to look at a few bad apples
and then cut down the whole tree and dig up the roots - get it out - we are
America! Oh wait, so are they. I completely forget theyre American too,
just like Canada. Shoot.
Anyway, didnt mean to get all huffy puffy, but we really need to open our
eyes. Stop looking at only ourselves. There are honest, hardworking men
and women out there who are busting their asses for a measley 4 or 5 dollars
an hour so they can provide for their families. They live every day in fear
that they might get deported or worse arrested (which doesnt happen in
Spain thank God), or that theyll get ripped off because they dont
understand everything. Shame on us for looking at them as garbage! As just
something that can be gathered up and tossed into a dung heap. Many of them
are trying to learn the language - but the older you are the harder it is.
Dad, imagine if the US was overthrown and the leader of the country began to
steal from the people and make life impossible to live happily. You had to
fight for food and maybe you had to let a few of your children go into the
streets to make money (I shouldnt need to suggest what jobs theyd have to
do). Instead of giving in and letting life become hell, you move to Mexico
where the economy has gotten better, land is cheap, food is good and the
people are happy. You might be able to buy a house, but that could be years
down the road. For now youll have to start working as a entry level
carpenter at the equivalent of $5/hr and oh, you have to learn Spanish too!
But this life is better, and your family will be happy and free and educated
and maybe respected some day. Now imagine all the Mexicans start to tell
you how crummy you are for trying to make a living in their country and they
decide and you need to spend a few years in jail and then get tossed back
into your country where your family lost the house and you all are living on
the streets or with friends and family members if youre lucky.
Here in Spain the Spanish often look at anyone who is black the same way
many "Americans" (I cant say United Statians) look at Mexicans. As though
they are all here trying to take advantage of the system and wanting to
bring only their culture and language into the country and have everyone
adjust to them as opposed to them adjusting. While this is true for some,
it is not the case for all. To assume so is just ignorant. Weve met men
who were doctors in their home country and here they are working in
construction or housecleaning or some other low paying hard labor job. They
simply here so they can live in peace and freedom and not be worried about
death and poverty - although many face that here as well since they
eventually have to turn to prostitution or illegal sales of items (not
necessarily drugs, but purses and dvds and belts and anything else you can
think of).
I want to be clear that I am not saying we should just make it fine and
dandy and turn our eyes the other way. There are laws for a reason and
there needs to be some control. But especially to make these people
criminal is just plain ignorant, arrogant and wrong. And I feel the same
about making it impossible for them to become citizens by eliminating such
things as amnesty. Now if you have a problem with the way some people take
advantage of a system like Welfare - well maybe we ought to change the
system -but come on, be smart. There was a change made to the Medicaid laws
making it so that recipients had to provide proof of citizenship every 6
months (when its renewed). This can be done with either a birth
certificate or passport. Well let me ask you how many of you have a
passport? Now imagine that youre 85 suffering from a coming of dementia
and you have no immediate family to help you. What do you do then? You
cant find your bc...sorry, declined - hope you die quickly :-(. Now I
admit that I only know this last bit because my wife used to work at a law
firm that dealt with these clients and her former boss keeps in touch and
told us about the new law.
Anyway, this is rather long now and most of you probably stopped reading. I
want to finish by petitioning you to challenge your thinking and look
carefully at the way we treat other human beings. Are we more important
than them? If so, why? What makes you so special - just because you were
born on a plot of land in a certain side of the world or maybe just a few
hundred feet from where they were born? Look at the laws and petitions
youre advocating and think about it. Whats the real problem, and is this
a valid solution or a temporary bandaid that might make matters worse?
Finally, are you looking at them as fellow human beings who are just trying
to make it from dust to dust with at least half of a smile on their
face...or are you looking at them as a piece of garbage that every so often
brings a whiff of unpleasantness to your way of living?
Please, if you read this whole email I am thankful. I would be more
thankful if you replied. I am not writing this as someone who has the
answers and knows better -only as someone expressing their opinion from
current experiences and new outlook. I would love to discuss the matter
further with any of you.
Sincerely
Jason Merrel
Hey bud,
I started reading this morning and I didn’t get a chance to finish what I had started. I do agree with a large percentage of what you say and I tend to be sympathetic when it comes to the genuine Hispanics who are here trying to make a living for/with their family in the USA. I know that these people add a great deal to the economy and the ever-evolving culture of not only being American but also, being Californian. For these people I would venture to say that they make up the majority of the families here now. I have the distinct pleasure to work with some first and second-generation hispanics/latin Americans. Their stories of there fathers or grand fathers sneaking into this country in the dead of night or risking life and limb riding in a cramped car in some "compartment" for an ungodly amount of hours. All of this to reap what our founding generation called the land of opportunity. The interesting thing to me is why are all of these people still coming to America?? If there is a place in the world where there is no war and everything is peaceful why aren’t millions fleeing to this oasis for a rest on their soul. I know where you speak of isn’t the most perfect place and guessing by what you have hinted at you can do anything as long as you get enough money to sustain yourself. Not a whole lot, not too little, just enough.
But, my friend in my opinion here is where the rubber meets the road. You live in a country that was not born into prosperity and has had long lived rituals in place for thousands of years. America is a land of greed. THAT and that alone is why people sneak, run, swim and put everything on the line to be in this place. They know that in this land of green (not a typo) you can go to work and do what you were doing in Mexico for fifty cents a day for four dollars an hour, a vast improvement if you can get it. Now this doesn’t discount the people that have come into this country and assimilated into our society and learned our language and become legitimate Americans. For those people who now sit back and enjoy the fruits of coming to America either by being naturalized or going through the rigorous but, intentional citizenship process this does not apply to them. Its the small percentage that you briefly touched on that take something that could be good and make it one of the hottest political issues of our day. Those who would come into our country only to profit from it whether it be Mexicans, Africans, Canadians or any other person are not welcome here from this person. I don’t want people coming into this country and taking advantage of what makes our country great. I don’t want people here living in the US for short periods of time minimally investing in our economy only here to satisfy there hunger for a quick dollar only to dash across the border again and investing in there so called "improving" economy. If there economy is improving and life is supposed to be better than why do they continue to come across? Vicente Fox doesn’t want those people to stay in Mexico, 50 billion dollars a year is moved across the border from people living here and sending money back to be spent in Mexico.
Is there an answer to this problem?? I don’t think there will ever be a good enough system in place as long as there are jobs that Mexicans can do here for higher wages than in Mexico. The need for those people is great but there has to be a good system in place that can allow them to travel between our country and their country freely. I don’t know the answer and I don’t even think the people who are supposed to have the answers have this one down. Its a double edged sword, you loose that labor and your cost of living goes up because we have to employ white people to do that work and they will demand higher wages costing us more. If you develop a system where we grant amnesty to everyone who comes across every couple of years than your asking for more people to come across and the thing that they are coming across for is going to go away. The great thing about Spain and the reason that I want to visit is because the mind set is different and just enjoying life is a priority. In America we will squander the rest of our lives working for a measly dollar that in the end has never made us happy but has made our country great and prosperous. If we get anything in this life its the ability to live everyday to its fullest and if your lucky meet someone that takes your mediocre to extraordinary. Other than that everything else is a crapshoot. Now, I have typed too much and need to stop with no clear answer. It doesn’t seem right that there are a small group of people driving this but, in this country that is so driven based on greed and want the money is always going to be there, so there will always be all types of people willing to do whatever it takes to make that dollar.
Raymond Auld
I was recently forwarded an interesting petition that asked for me to enter
my name and forward it on so that we could petition to set laws that would
make it worse for illegal immigrants in the US. I don’t have to think very
hard about my response to this petition, although it is drastically
different from what it would have been, oh say, 10 months ago. Let me
explain.
I would actually have to decline signing this petition for several reasons -
first of which I don’t think we should abolish amnesty and social help for
illegal immigrants. We ought to find some other ways of improving the
system as well as encouraging legality. However, becoming a legal citizen
is far more difficult than you might know - not to mention that the majority
of these people are hard working people who are just wanting to live a
better life than the ones they have in their country. I used to be one of
the first to jump on this type of bandwagon and be completely against all
illegal immigration stuff - however, since moving to Spain I’ve seen things
in so many new lights. Spain makes it very difficult to get papers (need I
remind you that I myself am an illegal immigrant at the moment) yet they
also provide COMPLETELY FREE health services to anyone who registers as
living in the country. Every few years they offer an amnesty and thousands
of hardworking honest people become legal citizens and add to the tax pot.
If you think about our social security problem at the moment, the hundreds
of thousands of illegal immigrants in the US would greatly help with
contributions. I need also remind you that you only think of Mexicans -
why? What have they done to you? Why does the petition say "Senor Fox"
instead of all the other countries that have allowed illegal immigration to
the US. I might remind you that much of your culture has been positively
influenced by the Mexicans around you. Move to Spain and youll see the
differences - a good burrito is almost impossible to find, spicy food is
absent - and oh...you didnt realize you speak quite a bit of Spanish now
did you? For example - whats that little bug that flies around and sticks
his long needle like mouth into your skin and sucks your blood? A mosquito
you say...well so do the Spanish! And I promise you they were saying it
first. Many of the words you use today have been brought to you by your
local Mexican neighbor. Yet you are so quick to look at a few bad apples
and then cut down the whole tree and dig up the roots - get it out - we are
America! Oh wait, so are they. I completely forget theyre American too,
just like Canada. Shoot.
Anyway, didnt mean to get all huffy puffy, but we really need to open our
eyes. Stop looking at only ourselves. There are honest, hardworking men
and women out there who are busting their asses for a measley 4 or 5 dollars
an hour so they can provide for their families. They live every day in fear
that they might get deported or worse arrested (which doesnt happen in
Spain thank God), or that theyll get ripped off because they dont
understand everything. Shame on us for looking at them as garbage! As just
something that can be gathered up and tossed into a dung heap. Many of them
are trying to learn the language - but the older you are the harder it is.
Dad, imagine if the US was overthrown and the leader of the country began to
steal from the people and make life impossible to live happily. You had to
fight for food and maybe you had to let a few of your children go into the
streets to make money (I shouldnt need to suggest what jobs theyd have to
do). Instead of giving in and letting life become hell, you move to Mexico
where the economy has gotten better, land is cheap, food is good and the
people are happy. You might be able to buy a house, but that could be years
down the road. For now youll have to start working as a entry level
carpenter at the equivalent of $5/hr and oh, you have to learn Spanish too!
But this life is better, and your family will be happy and free and educated
and maybe respected some day. Now imagine all the Mexicans start to tell
you how crummy you are for trying to make a living in their country and they
decide and you need to spend a few years in jail and then get tossed back
into your country where your family lost the house and you all are living on
the streets or with friends and family members if youre lucky.
Here in Spain the Spanish often look at anyone who is black the same way
many "Americans" (I cant say United Statians) look at Mexicans. As though
they are all here trying to take advantage of the system and wanting to
bring only their culture and language into the country and have everyone
adjust to them as opposed to them adjusting. While this is true for some,
it is not the case for all. To assume so is just ignorant. Weve met men
who were doctors in their home country and here they are working in
construction or housecleaning or some other low paying hard labor job. They
simply here so they can live in peace and freedom and not be worried about
death and poverty - although many face that here as well since they
eventually have to turn to prostitution or illegal sales of items (not
necessarily drugs, but purses and dvds and belts and anything else you can
think of).
I want to be clear that I am not saying we should just make it fine and
dandy and turn our eyes the other way. There are laws for a reason and
there needs to be some control. But especially to make these people
criminal is just plain ignorant, arrogant and wrong. And I feel the same
about making it impossible for them to become citizens by eliminating such
things as amnesty. Now if you have a problem with the way some people take
advantage of a system like Welfare - well maybe we ought to change the
system -but come on, be smart. There was a change made to the Medicaid laws
making it so that recipients had to provide proof of citizenship every 6
months (when its renewed). This can be done with either a birth
certificate or passport. Well let me ask you how many of you have a
passport? Now imagine that youre 85 suffering from a coming of dementia
and you have no immediate family to help you. What do you do then? You
cant find your bc...sorry, declined - hope you die quickly :-(. Now I
admit that I only know this last bit because my wife used to work at a law
firm that dealt with these clients and her former boss keeps in touch and
told us about the new law.
Anyway, this is rather long now and most of you probably stopped reading. I
want to finish by petitioning you to challenge your thinking and look
carefully at the way we treat other human beings. Are we more important
than them? If so, why? What makes you so special - just because you were
born on a plot of land in a certain side of the world or maybe just a few
hundred feet from where they were born? Look at the laws and petitions
youre advocating and think about it. Whats the real problem, and is this
a valid solution or a temporary bandaid that might make matters worse?
Finally, are you looking at them as fellow human beings who are just trying
to make it from dust to dust with at least half of a smile on their
face...or are you looking at them as a piece of garbage that every so often
brings a whiff of unpleasantness to your way of living?
Please, if you read this whole email I am thankful. I would be more
thankful if you replied. I am not writing this as someone who has the
answers and knows better -only as someone expressing their opinion from
current experiences and new outlook. I would love to discuss the matter
further with any of you.
Sincerely
Jason Merrel