Illegal Immigrants?

I am prepared to make some enemies with this post but bring 'em on! In case you are living in a hole, despite your best efforts you are probably aware that we are in an election year. As much as I like to think I can stay out of it, it seems the hot button issues always pull me in. I am usually someone who can choose a side relatively easily and argue it to the death. As my husband well knows. He and I debate gay marriage, abortion, illegal immigration, unionization, animal rights, etc. We each have our own opinions about these issues but I like to think when we are done he always switches to my POV. Maybe he just tells me that so I will hush. Regardless, it hones our debating skills even if we don't agree with the side we are arguing.

What is proving to be one of the larger issues in this year's election seems to be surrounding the topic of Immigrants. President Obama has recently stated that he and his administration will stop the deportation of illegal immigrants who were brought to the country as children but who now are law abiding residents. Is this just a ploy to get votes? Perhaps and many think it will work. But ploy or not I give the President an "amen."

Before I rant, I will say that I am not a researcher of the issues surrounding illegal immigration. I call things like I see them. I am not incredibly well informed on the subject but I will tell you the way I see things based on the information I have. This is my opinion and while you may not agree, I do hope that it will at least get you thinking about it.

I recently read a post over at The Acorn Underfoot on the subject of "unwavering nationalism" as she called it. Her post about the nationalism in this country definitely got my wheels turning. It has recently began to dawn on me just how wrong we have it. Somewhere along the way we became the nation that believes because we are American we are inherently better than those other nations. That God should "bless America." Hell, I have that very sign on my front porch. Why just America? Why do we not say God Bless everyone? (like tiny Tim would say God bless us every one) *light moment*

As Americans we have been bred to believe that this land is "ours"  and that all of the jobs are "ours." That's a sorry excuse for laziness. To say that because I'm an American I deserve these things even though someone else may work harder for it or dare I say deserve it more.

Historian is a really generous word for what I consider myself but I will give you a little lesson. In case you were born with 100% Native American blood running through your veins then at one point your relatives were immigrants. And what now gives us the right to cut off the borders? If people believe our country is the land of opportunity and want to live and work here then who are we to say, "No, you can't. You should have come a couple hundred years ago, now it's too late." Why do we get to decide that. My, how high our opinions are of ourselves as Americans.

I would love to talk to a Native American or two and ask them just how many "illegal immigrants" they allowed into THEIR land so many years ago. If this land belongs to anyone it certainly is not me or my ancestors.

I want to end by contradicting everything I have said. Okay, not everything.  I love America (there, that's the only contradiction)  but I'm not blind to our faults. Or to just how easily it could be me who lived in a country I was unhappy in and desperately wanting a different life for my children. It scares me sometimes to see just how far we haven't come in our American elitism mindsets.

I am completely prepared for the fact that someone much better informed on the issue could comment on this and rip me to shreds. In which case I would cry and delete this post out of shame haha But just think about it from a different point of view than just "I" and "my jobs" and "my land."