Police State, Here We Come

Tuesday 25 May 2010 - Filed under Dumbassery + Government + Military

Randall C. Archibold via The New York Times:

President Obama will send up to 1,200 National Guard troops to the Southwest border and increase spending on law enforcement, yielding to demands from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers there that border security be tightened, administration officials said.

I don’t want to argue that we don’t need some serious immigration policy reform, because it’s clear that we do.  But using military troops to secure our borders sounds very USSRish to me.  Just 2 decades ago, we had a president who demanded that a wall of division be brought down, a moment praised by those across the political spectrum.  Now we have one who will raise a proverbial one up and bar entry with military force.  Were the president serious about stopping the uncontrollable flow of illegal aliens across American borders,  especially those who come only with bad intentions, and not simply placating Americans in border states, he would end the war on drugs as we know it cutting off the demand for illegal drugs from Mexico, and policy would be reformed to allow those who wish to work peacefully a method of relatively easy entry with the caveat that it is a work permit, and not a route towards citizenship.  They would not be eligible for social services such as HUD or welfare, with the exception of schooling and emergency medical care, and would also pay taxes from their earnings to flip their part of the bill and not burden tax paying Americans.  No amount of military force along the border will stop those who are seeking a better life, and as long as America is representative of Freedom to those less fortunate around the world, those people will find a way to get here.  It’s a matter of how can we Americans make it a better deal for us, not trying to find ways of barring entry that won’t work.

I’m no Reaganite, but one line from his famous “Tear down this wall” speech stands out as applicable to our current dilemma with illegal immigration more than any other: “We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace.”  This idea was not long ago a quintessential American value, that of openness and freedom being coupled with security.  Now physical barriers and military force represent the dream of many in America as the route to freedom.  When we stop using military force as a primary means to solve our many problems, perhaps we can again be on the road towards liberty rather than a police state.

2010-05-25  »  madlibertarianguy