Friday, August 08, 2014

Those who are enabling 'dreamers' are America's worst nightmare

In the video below, two people walk up to Rep. Steve King & Sen. Rand Paul who're eating lunch at a table outside. The moment the lady identifies herself as 'a dreamer' (aka: an illegal immigrant), Rand Paul drops his burger and with his companion, in what looked like very instinctual reactions, flees the confrontation (it is getting harder and harder to see him in a real leadership role). King, on the other hand, sticks it out and handles the situation exactly as he should: calmly, clearly, dispassionately and, despite the 'dreamers' attempts to make it an emotional issue, he handles it as a question of law.

But as offensive as these two illegal immigrant 'dreamers' are, they aren't the real problem.

In the course of this video, and in follow-ups, the two, who quite understandably would rather be referred to euphemistically as 'dreamers', than as the illegal immigrants which they are, emphatically claim, again and again, that they 'love America!'

No. No ma'am, you don't. I state that flatly and without reservation, as someone who does love America for what it is: a nation of Laws. You do not love America, you demonstrate that by your own actions, and those actions which prevent you from being able to love America.

And to ward off some of the support I might unintentionally receive, I say this as an essentially 'open borders' guy. All I want from an Immigration Policy (laws I'd like to see) and from those asking permission to cross our borders, is that they acknowledge that our borders do in fact exist and indicate where the rule and jurisdiction of our laws begin; I expect that immigrants should be able to pass reasonable health & safety checks; that they register on entry, and that they pledge to abide by our laws while they are here for work or pleasure; during which time they should conduct themselves so as to respect our cultural norms and standards during their stay (and if intending an extended stay, I think they should pass a lite version of our citizenry tests and language comprehension... food for future laws). I flatly reject the 'economic arguments' which nationalists (such as FDR & Union bosses) raise against cheap labor, and I contend that all of the other issues oft associated with immigrants would evaporate over night, if they were not extended free public assistance services in the various forms of housing, food, education, etc, which are only due to citizens (but of course I wish American citizens did not seek or receive such things either... laws yet to be corrected). And I'd add to this that I expect that those who violate our laws should be immediately fined and deported without chance of return.

But be that is it may and by our laws as they currently stand, if you entered into America by violating her laws, you are no more able to claim that you love America, than if you forcibly violated Lady Liberty because you claimed to love her. That's not love. No. Sorry. No means no! You may lust after her fruits, but you cannot claim to love America while forcibly violating Lady Liberty's body of laws.

These 'dreamers' dreams are not the American dream, but the result of one of its greatest nightmares. But still, as offensive as these two illegal immigrant 'dreamers' are, they aren't the real problem.



I'll give you that these 'dreamers' may very well be fond of some geographical portion of America, they may enjoy the economic fruits of it, they may even love some of the people living within her, but that, those and they are not America - those are things which to some extent are common to every nation on earth, but such commonalities are not what makes America exceptional and worth loving.

America is an Idea, the first and only nation ever 'conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal', it is the idea of living a life where your Individual Rights are understood to be respected and secured by law so that you can live in liberty. Those Rights, famously summarized as Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, are only possible by instituting a government to uphold those rights as a nation of laws. Respect for the rule of law is essential; only then can everyone hope to have and enjoy an equal standing before the law. And those laws are dependent upon a populace who, from the highest office to the most humble of citizens (and visitors), respect its laws and expect, revere and demand the rule of law.

The unobtrusive monster
Which leads us to what the real problem is, and it's not these 'dreamers' - they're a problem that can be identified, debated and dealt with, by law. The real problem is far worse than two or even twenty million illegal immigrants.

The problem which is far worse than individual law breaking 'dreamers', are the unknown number of law ignoring people who are not only amongst us but who are in places of power within our government; people who feel that when the laws of the land, which they have sworn oaths to uphold and administer, conflict with their own personal assessments and political preferences, and so feel no compunction in using the power they've been entrusted with for upholding the law, to violate our laws as it suits their own desires.

What the existence and toleration of such law ignoring government functionaries means, is that Power has been unleashed upon the land. The power of the people of America, which its laws embody, are rapidly falling into the hands of a people who intend to wield that power however they will. When that happens, and it is happening, monsters are unleashed.

Any thinking person who is not alarmed over this, has never learned how to think thoughts worth thinking - thoughts such as those which animate America. You cannot love America while forcibly violating Lady Liberty's body of laws.

And a nation of laws cannot long exist while such people are allowed to hold offices in its government, or grow to be a substantial portion of its populace. But of course that nation will not simply vanish, a changeling will take its place, and that changeling cannot not be monstrous.

... there he is...
P.S. - Don't bother looking for a red-eyed tyrannical monster - that isn't what's being unleashing, not yet anyway. If you want to know how to recognize the lawless monster, watch this video through to the end. Do you see the putz who steps in and tries to stop the lady from videoing the conversation by telling her that he's decided she isn't allowed to video them? That's him. The monstrous power ready to run over us and our laws, is rarely going to take the form of a powerful tyrant, it is far more likely to be a piddling little bureaucrat who, left on their own, don't possess the personal power and authority to influence even a single person to listen to them. But that same faceless bureaucrat will be the one who is more than happy to turn the power of We The People against us, 'for our own good'.

If you don't believe me, read Hannah Arendt's observations on the Nazi's faceless bureaucrats and the banality of evil.

2 comments:

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

Bravo zulu, Van!
I've been reading Leftism, and the author makes an ironclad case that democracy is the enemy of individual liberties, and indeed, our very Republic, such that it is.

That's why leftists always talk about freedom and democracy rather than liberty and our Republic.
Problem is, most voters don't know the difference as we have seen.
Mob rule.

It's very interesting to see the differences between Europe democracy and US democracy, but the bottom line is that all types of democracies, socialism, fascism, etc., seek to destroy individual liberties and rights from within.

If we cannot find a way (school choice! the GOP should harp on this incessantly) to compete with public indctrination and present more opportunities for Americans to pursue a true education what comes next, is no mystery to anyone with even an inkling of history.

Indeed, it's already happening as you pointed out.
We really need guys like Jeff Sessions and Trey Gowdy who ain't afraid to tell the truth and they both do it so well.

We also need governors that will do what Scott Walker has done (and more) to stop the corruption in public unions and restore sanity.

BTW, what books on Calvin Coolidge would you recommend, Van?
I'm definitely getting his biography but I would like to read more in depth about his political works.




USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

I also concur that illegals don't love America.
The immigrant who follows the law and works hard to become a US citizen because he wants what our Founders want does love what America stands for, and only wants an opportunity and not ill-gotten gains at another American's expense.

That immigrant doesn't want to bring the culture and mob rule mentality of the country he was born in to America, he wants liberty.

Many illegals don't get that, especially the ones that demand all sorts of social programs and special rights.
They have a built-in victim mentality that democrats love to exploit.
No, they don't love America they love the redistribution of wealth they didn't earn for their own benefit.
Which is one reason they like socialism or mob rule.