[PLUG-TALK] Re: [PLUG] Sounds good to me ;)

John Hampton John.Hampton at gijoes.com
Tue Jun 18 15:28:40 UTC 2002


Scott said:
>But given that, I have met
>many people that have legally immigrated into this country.  Some have even
>been naturalized.  What a slap in the face it is to them to give immunity or
>driver's licences to illegals.

Why is it a slap in their face?  I would venture to say that if you gave the illegal immigrants the opportunity to become legal citizens, the vast majority would do it in a heart beat.  The reason that they are illegal isn't because they like being "rebels" or "criminals" it is because they have no means of becoming legal citizens.  It is not easy to become a US Citizen.  I would also venture to say that at least 50% of High School Students, who are US citizens and have grown up in this country, could not pass the exam for citizenship, were they to take it.  Why is it so wrong to want to help a neighbor instead of send them packing?

>Clearly, I have not communicated this point well.  I will try again.  We all
>need to speak the same language and be one culture.  In every country that
>has more than one culture you have a long bloody war until one side wins and
>enslaves or exterminates the other.  Or the country gets devided into 2 or
>more counties.  If we are all one culture, this will not happen.  It is one
>of the great strengths of America that we allow others to come here and
>become our equals.

I don't know if I agree with this statement.  I think that the US is a great country.  I think that the US is one of the only (perhaps the only) countries where different cultures can and should get along peacefully.  Because of its diversity.  The reason that countries are divided is because one culture thinks it is better than the other.  Or one tribe gets greedy and takes what the other has.  The fact that a county is multi-cultured isn't a recipe for disaster.  The recipe for disaster is intolerance and greed.  I agree that communication is needed.  I agree that communication should be encouraged. I agree that the vast majority of immigrants would be greatly empowered if they learned English, but I don't agree that it is an absolute requirement.  I think that it should be a requirement for every US citizen to learn another language.  Be it Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, whatever.  Is the strength of America the "ability to become our equals" or is the strength of America that "all are equal"?  I believe the latter.

John Hampton
Programmer Analyst
G.I. Joe's, Inc.
john.hampton at gijoes.com





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