Live Breathe and Die

Archive for March, 2006

It’s an interesting thing about immigration and the United States.  When I was growing up in the ‘60’s in an ethically diverse blue collar neighborhood, many of my friend’s parents spoke with an accent.  They were first generation American’s who came from Germany, Poland, Italy, Yugoslavia, Serbia, Scandinavian countries, Hungary and Greece.  They were largely Catholic, with a smaller number of Protestants and some Jews.  My friends spoke perfect English, but knew at least some of their parent’s native languages.  All were familiar with traditions of their parent’s countries of origin, but few dwelled on those traditions.  They were, after all, Americans.

Late last week I was driving into work and was forced to exit the freeway because of an accident somewhere ahead.  My drive to work is 32 miles, and on this morning I was anxious to get to the office early.  I had left home an hour and a half before my scheduled starting time.  As I exited the freeway, I realized that the long exit ramp was packed with other cars.  Assuming that the other driver’s were just taking the same course of action, I thought nothing of it. 

As I got to the bottom of the exit, I made certain to stay in the right lane because I needed to make a right turn and head north towards my office, which would have been about eight miles further.  The radio station I was listening too came on with a news story warning people to avoid the very area I was now trapped in.  According to the story, there were thousands of people blocking the wide north/south thorough way that I had exited onto, and as I listened to the story, I could see the sidewalks near the expressway flooded with Hispanic people walking north with their children.  I was stuck, in gridlock with nowhere I could go.  Turning north, I now faced an ocean of humans flooding both the street and sidewalks with police officers trying in vain to control the growing crowd. 

As I watched in disbelief, the radio news story answered my questions about what I had found myself ensconced in.  One of our local senators had introduced a bill in the Senate calling for reforms in the immigration laws.  His bill would not guarantee amnesty to those here illegally and would strengthen laws against employers who try to sidestep the law and employ those who they may know are in the
U.S. illegally.  He wants more border agents and more technology on the U.S.-Mexican border that would prevent illegal entry into the country.

I have several very good friends who are second and third generation Mexican-Americans. They speak flawless English and think of themselves first as Americans.  They are fully acclimated into everything American.  To the contrary, the Hispanics marching in the protest I witnessed want nothing to do with anything American.  They want the $14-20.00 an hour they get for landscaping work.  They want that money to remain tax-free and free of social security reductions.  They want the free medical care that they get in American hospitals.  They want the plethora of free services and handouts available for those assumed poor, all the time sending billions back to Mexico and filling bank accounts with cash. 

Coming into the United States by sneaking in is only the first of many illegal acts committed by the border crossers.  In cities in the Southwest, and throughout the country, there is a network of illegal document producers who earn their livings from the illegals who stream into the U.S.  After entering the country illegally, those ignoring our laws then use counterfeit social security cards, driver’s licenses and green cards to commit additional fraud on the agencies and institutions of government, employers and charities.  

My views towards immigration laws have been indelibly influenced by my own real world experience.  My friends and their families did not insist on speaking their native languages, flying their native flags above their homes or forcing the local school system to teach in their native tongue.  They did not require product instructions written in the language of their parents countries of origin, nor did they insist on speaking to someone who spoke the native language when calling the manufacturer with questions on the product.  They were most interested in being Americans, experiencing American traditions and speaking English.  We usually knew the origins of their last name, but it was just their name.  Life in that neighborhood was a true melting pot, and despite the mix of ethnicities, everyone was just American and celebrated it by respecting its privileges. 

So there I was that morning, surrounded by thousands protesting the U.S. position to strengthen our borders against terrorist entry.  They were marching to the office of a local Senator who was at the forefront of immigration reform and tell him a thing or two about his efforts to call an illegal act, an illegal act.  How dare him.  The U.S. is not just a melting pot; the U.S. is their own native dish, complete with ingredients that most Americans find hard to stomach.  

The U.S. congress is working on immigration reform even now.  Most of the politicians involved are catering to the whims of the illegals and their support groups.  In the end, they will allow illegal acts to be overlooked.  They will grant amnesty, while not calling it such. 

The immigrant families who I knew, who came to America legally and who became Americans, who relished learning English and who rallied to their country’s support are all but forgotten.  A new generation of immigrants who have no interest in assimilating into American culture are here, and they are staying and America will never be the same.

From the file; I don’t want to say I told you so, but I told you so.

Teacher Jay Bennish will be going back to work on Monday.

Just like his colleague in Vermont, badmouthing President Bush,

Conservatives or Republicans in an American classroom is not

only acceptable, it’s encouraged.  Mr. Bennish will be the darling of the

teacher’s lounge starting Monday as his colleagues shake his hand and

congratulate him for proving, once again, that left wing brainwashing

and student manipulation is perfectly acceptable in the current day

classroom.