Friday, April 23, 2010

Fear Mongering and Open Boarders

Many people in our country have feared open boarders throughout the history of the United States. The more I learn about history the more I realize all the debates that we have are the same as from the past. The best thing we can do is learn from the past and see if our fears really are valid or not. I've found some books that go over this history of our boarders and give inciteful perspectives on what we need to fear.

My dad told me that back when he was young (which really wasn't that long ago) you could cross the Mexican border without any problems, I don't even think he needed a passport or birth certificate. But now it is horrendous trying to pass the border as it becomes more and more locked up. That tells me that something has changed and the solution isn't to lock the borders up but to figure out what things have changed for the worse and to stop those changes and revert back or change to a better way of doing things. What has changed? I'm sure many things have changed one of them is the drug war. We have turned Mexico and other countries into war zones to keep drugs out of our country that we can't even keep out (we can't even keep them out of our schools and prisons, the most heavily guarded places), so this tells me that the problem is our laws and not the open border.


Cato has a book review forum that was interesting to listen to. In the review they even talk of the Benjamin Franklin anti-immigration quote.  


Below is a synopsis of the book review forum.  


"In a provocative new book, Jason Riley makes the case for welcoming more legal immigrants to the United States. Drawing on history, scholarly studies and first-hand reporting, Riley argues that today’s newcomers are fueling America’s prosperity and dynamism. He challenges the prevailing views on talk radio and cable TV that immigrants are overpopulating the country, stealing jobs, depressing wages, bankrupting social services, filling prisons, resisting assimilation and promoting big government. Comments will be provided by one of the nation’s leading political analysts."  


The books would be interesting to read for a historical perspective. Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders. 
There was also another book they reviewed. I'll see if I can get that one down here too.

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