More American than you
Recently, I’ve been hearing a lot of anti-immigration buzz and most notably in the form of a particular email forward. The message lists several countries and reveals the punishments that they impose on those who cross into their territories illegally.
The forward’s formula is this:
If you cross _____________’s border illegally you get _____________.
The first blank is a country’s name; the second is a description of some sort of long detainment or painful death.
The email ends with the following:
If you cross the US border illegally you get a job, a driver’s license, a social security card, welfare… [the list goes on]. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HAD A FIRM GRASP ON THE SITUATION !!! PLEASE KEEP !!! THIS GOING…...FORWARD TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY. IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP AMERICA !!!!!!!!!!!!
Huh. So we want to be like the other countries listed in the email? Because they are some of the worst human rights violators—countries whose own people would very much like to cross their borders (in the leaving direction) but are denied permission to do so by their totalitarian governments.
Gwenn Seemel
Ellis Island Pilgrim (Bosnian-American)
2008
acrylic on canvas
24 x 30 inches
(Part of Apple Pie, a series about the American identity.)
First and second generation Americans—immigrants and their children—are more American than those whose families have been in the United States for a few more generations. If your family no longer has any real connection to its country of origin, you cannot know what it’s like to choose to be American instead of something else and, as a result, you do not remember what makes America great.
Anti-immigration is racism. If you want to stop the influx of people who are coming here with the goal of building a better life for themselves and their loved ones, I challenge you to take a look at why. Are you worried that these new arrivals will take-take-take and not give back? How can they? If immigrants are accepted into their new community, they will stay and will not be able to help giving back as they build that better life. Is that what scares you? That people who aren’t white will stay on and become American?
After all, that’s how it happened in the past. Both Irish immigrants and Italian ones were considered “ethnic” in their time. They were not white enough to qualify for many jobs and they were marginalized. Today, they are a part of white America and unfortunately sometimes a part of the white America that’s anti-immigration. These are two populations who integrated really well. Scary, isn’t it?
Let’s not be like North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Venezuela, or Cuba. Let’s be like the United States of America, a country who’s always loved and hated its immigrant heritage but who’s at least giving immigrants a serious go. We’re the only ones in the world who are and it’s very good for us.
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CATEGORIES: - Apple Pie - Philosophy -
(12) Comments / Commentaires: More American than you
Beautifully written, Gwen. Art as politics in an important, vital way.
I chose both. I’m a dual national.
A country is defined by language, culture and borders. This whole article is a misleading lie. People are against Illegal immigration, not immigration itself. We have every right to defend our borders. I don’t want to live in Juarez or to have Cartel style violence come to the U.S. I want to go to Mexico and demand that they speak English,and give me and my kids full state benefits. If they don’t I will throw a temper tantrum and call them racist.
Isn’t there a difference between immigration and ILLEGAL immigration?
@YouLie! @Tina So would you be happy if every illegal immigrant who was in the US was amnestied and our immigration quotas were raised to reflect the numbers of people who actually wish to enter this country?
No… I would be happy if people would go through the due process of legally coming into the country, like my family did!
@Tina So legality isn’t the only issue you have with new immigrants?
That’s pretty funny. If we let in everyone that “who actually wish to enter this country” then we would have BILLIONS of people here! When is Mexico going to open it’s borders for the millions of Africans, Asians and people from India that want to move there? If we let in everyone that wants to come to the U.S. we would be turned into a 3rd world slum overnight. Under Mexican law immigration to Mexico cannot “alter the country’s demographics” in other words, Mexico has an openly racist immigration policy that bars much of the world from going there. Only sucker liberal Americans fall for the illegal immigrant scam.
@YouLie! A country is not defined by language, culture, and borders.
An example: when Haiti first declared its nationhood, the US refused recognize it as a nation. The US did this because Haiti was a nation run by free slaves who’d overthrown their oppressors and the US was still very much into slavery and didn’t want to acknowledge anything that Haiti had done as legal.
A nation is whatever is recognized as one by other nations.
I think you’re talking about defining a people, not a nation. It seems to me that you want to define a people of the United States as one that speaks only English among other limiting criteria. And it’s hard to do that in the US because the American people has always been a people that evolves very quickly—because of the constant refreshing energy of immigrants, illegal or otherwise.
Legality is my only problem with illegal immigration! Everyone in the world has the right to WANT to come into our country and reap the benifits of being a citizen of the United States of America! It is also the right of the United States to limit the sheer number of people that are let into the country in order to preserve those benifits. It is also the right of the United States to have a say in who comes into the country, in that the USA does not want the criminals of other countries to have free riegn here.
Amnisty after the fact is not the solution, it perpuates the problem.
Of course what you say makes no sense. Countries do not need to be recognized internationally to be a country. What you are saying is ethnocentric and fascist. You’re logic that a country is not valid unless it has full diplomatic recognition from the U.S. is of course completely false. How can a place be a country with no borders? English is the predominant language of the U.S. In every country in the world without exception there is a dominant language and culture. I defy you to show me otherwise! I mean, what is your main point? That we should have no borders whatsoever and anyone can come in at anytime for any reason? No criminal background check? No country on Earth can survive that. So you wouldn’t mind if cartel members moved in right next door to you? Do you know anything about Mexico or Mexican culture? Do you know how many people have been slaughtered in Juarez? If we went by your rules life would be a nightmare. Would you let strangers move into your house? Could I just move myself and say, 20 of my closest friends into your house? Not only that, but it’s your duty and job to feed us and if you don’t then you’re racist and evil! We’re also going to have babies while we’re there, so you need to start looking for an extra job so you can support them as well. You don’t hate kids do you? On top of that some of my friends are Chinese, so in addition to finding an extra job, you’ll need to buckle down and learn Chinese so you can communicate with them. If you don’t then I have no choice but to call you a racist since you refuse to learn their native language.
Gurukarm (@karma_musings)...
Well-said, Gwenn (here from FB post by Simrat Kaur). And, great painting!
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