Writing to Mr Wilson re Immigration, Priorities and People Prefer Nasty Over Solutions

Dear Mr Wilson:


Our immigration problems don’t even make my top 10 concerns for this country.


My number one is what you started with, Mr Wilson: there is no holding a rational discussion on this or any number of issues. In playing Bullshit Bingo after reading responses to your recent post, I got “it is all Obama’s fault,” nitpicking a commenter’s phraseology, “it’s not worth explaining to you,” “what about” this other (unrelated) thing,” an “I have experienced one aspect of this therefore my opinion is superior to yours,” a “there can only be one answer,” a “my president is right whether right or wrong,” a general lack of respect and more interest in scoring Facebook chat points than offering anything close to possible solutions.


My other frustration is that people we elected and those we employ actually know this issue and may very well have practical solutions for at least some of the issues but the parities and politics keep them from rising to the surface. I mean, parties are more terrified that problems will be solved, otherwise what will they have to frighten us with? How will they criticize the other side’s remedy when there is nothing to remedy? Also, you don’t need to be an American to receive American compassion, you don’t need to choose between a gargantuan wall and open borders, and I will bet most Americans just want a rationale solution no matter how boring it is. Unfortunately too many have decided to believe the divisive rhetoric about the “other side.”


Since my five minutes are up, I will close by saying that Trump loves our division. (I am aware that even saying that can be me being divisive.) He banks on it. These issues are not mere policy differences. This is not a debate among rational minds. When we are arguing over whether or not to terrify children (I say we shouldn’t), whether non-Americans deserve compassion (they do), whether a wall made a city safe (when it did not), whether immigration is ruining our country (when the opposite is true), whether our southern border is the sole sieve which lets drug smuggling terror rapists pass freely (it isn’t) and whether a solution must resolve the entirety of a problem (it won’t happen), then our problems have much deeper roots than whether Maria from Ecuador really is fleeing for her life or racing to take away your job cleaning toilets at the El Paso Marriott.


The Democratic Party today does NOT want open borders and is open to a logical mix of solutions to manage the border. The Trump Party only believes in what HE wants. The actual GOP of Mitch McConnell lets the rancor continue while he packs the courts with right wing judges.


And now, to eat my own vegetables, I propose this: let a non-partisan group of security experts recommend a mile by mile mix of solutions then implement the damn thing so we can move on to improving education and job training, fixing the welfare system, fixing Social Security, implementing a fair tax code that encourages growth, instituting a logical health system to ensure a healthy and productive population, restoring our relationship with loyal allies, protecting free speech, fighting discrimination, standing up to global thugs, and for god’s sake combatting pollution and the causes of climate change!


I will cede the rest of my time to the lamp in the corner.