“Please” Might Be Nice

Sometimes “please” and “thank you” work better than “in your face“. It’s one of those age old customs your mother teaches you, universally taught because it’s so universally true. Unfortunately it hasn’t caught on yet among those protesting the Arizona immigration law.

Americans are the most charitable and considerate people in the world. For hundreds of years we have opened our doors to the oppressed and down trodden, asking that they assimilate into a culture of freedom rather than disband into groups of ethnocentric superiority seekers. We also ask for respect for our immigration laws and procedures as virtually every nation in the world requires. It’s a system that worked well, until it recently became politicized.

Because we have historically encouraged assimilation into the American way of life, we have a genuine immigration problem. More people want to experience our freedom of opportunity, because it doesn’t exist this way anywhere else. Now that we’ve matured as a nation, this desire to immigrate here has exceeded our capacity. One result is massive unlawful entry on our southern borders , especially from Mexico.

All immigrants, legal or otherwise, know that prosperity on this side of the border is real. They also know America is a compassionate nation. We don’t kill or torture violators when we catch them here illegally. We actually give them medicine when they get sick and provide education and humane living conditions for their children. That’s why millions have jumped the border and continue to do so. Still, it’s a status quo than cannot continue for any nation, ours included.

Like any situation or event where one has more people entering than space and facilities can accommodate, conditions deteriorate for everyone. That’s exactly what’s been happening in Arizona. All Arizonians are suffering the assault on their resources and their freedoms. Virtually everyone knows the federal government has shirked it’s responsibility for order at the border. For political reasons both parties, and especially the Democrats, have taken the cowardly way out. They’ve done nothing. The result is border chaos.

Now, twelve million illegal entrants later, the polls show clearly that the public is squarely behind Arizona trying to restore order. It’s not a statement against people. It’s a recognition of the requirements of fairness and good order. There are no easy solutions, but the tactic of demanding the right to live here illegally is ill advised. Americans, as kind and famously compassionate as they are, have had enough of bullying tactics, the breaking windows, the shouting insults, and the violent protests.

Illegal immigrants are placing their hope in the wrong party and their trust in the wrong people. They are being led over a cliff of discord by people seeking to use them politically for their own gain. People who have used lies, bribes, and violence as tactics. The political left. But it’s not going to work with illegal immigration. The issue is too big. The sovereignty of a nation is at stake and Americans understand that clearly.

When noncitizens begin making demands that they have no legal status to or right to make, Americans bristle. We are the most compassionate nation in the world when we are asked to help, but we can also be the most obstinate to a dictatorial demand. If Russians are experiencing difficulty in fishing villages, we respond favorably in some way. We would respond quite differently if Russians en masse crossed into Alaska and demanded land rights.

What’s missing in the illegal immigration problem? A thankful and humble attitude. That goes a long way for Americans. An attitude of gratefulness for all that we’ve already done would be a good place to start. So would supporting individual freedom and personal responsibility over entitlement demands. It won’t provide an instant fix, but it sure would be helpful if folks could perceive an attitude of gratefulness among those seeking to be a part of America.

For those illegal immigrants and undocumented sympathizers aligning themselves with the hard left, permit me a simple observation. When you want a favor from someone, saying “please” will probably go a lot further than spitting at them.  

About the author

William Burton wrote 26 articles on this blog.

A political junkie with a home spun view of politics, passionately conservative. Published writer (short stories, political essays, poems), and public speaker. Profiled in, "The Ridiculous Race" by Steve Heely.

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