The American DREAM
I am proud of America.
Though we have long dangled the promise of the American Dream in front of the world, we have more recently too often used our nation’s promise to taunt others. In a world of economic struggle, in no small part created by policies pushed by big business through our government onto the globe, millions have come to see America as an oasis of bread and water amidst strife. It may be a mirage, as poverty within America is growing, but still, millions come to America looking for sustenance and salvation, only to be condemned and told to get in the back of a line that has been far too long and far too broken for far too long.
For some time now, American businesses have actively subverted our nation’s laws in order to lure low-wage immigrant workers and increase their corporate bottom line. But those on the Right don’t attack big business for this dynamic, they blame those poor and desperate enough to follow the trail of crumbs the businesses set. Somehow, immigrant workers who are picking our fruit and cleaning our homes are stealing from America, but millionaires and billionaires who pay lower taxes than the rest of us are just keeping what they earned. It strikes me as profoundly hypocritical that conservatives who repeatedly proclaim themselves the defenders of patriotism and American history so blatantly lionize our nation’s kings but vilify its immigrants. King George III gained his wealth and power through entirely legal means and was the rightful leader of the American colonies, while Christopher Columbus was an undocumented immigrant. But American history firmly sides with the latter.
Of course, with President Obama’s executive order to halt deportations of young, undocumented immigrants and students, we’re not even talking about the hardworking mothers and fathers who came to our great country looking for hope and possibility. We’re talking about their kids, who were brought here when they were two years old, three years old, maybe 10 or 11, for whom America is all they have ever known. These are the so-called easy cases, the most sympathetic immigrants among our nation’s undocumented, the kids who only speak English and want to be able to go to college to become doctors or teachers or entrepreneurs. But still, those on the Right attack these young Americans as law breaking criminals who steal jobs from rightful Americans. Wall Street executives who drained billions in wealth from middle class families? Model citizens. Young Americans who want the same opportunities my great-grandparents sought? “Illegals” we should lock up and deport. Policy disagreements aside, the sort of inhumanity with which the Right wing talks about undocumented immigrants in America reflects a deep nastiness that darkens the heart of our nation.
Apparently, conservatives think the free market should not be free and open to everyone. Apparently, conservatives think that economic opportunity should be doled out according to a first-come, first served policy, not hard work. Apparently, they think wealth is not a zero-sum game when it comes to taxing the rich but jobs and opportunity are finite when it comes to the poor. Apparently, they think that more people working hard doesn’t multiply opportunity but somehow depletes it.
Economic opportunity is indeed elusive in America. But somehow, many feeling that insecurity take comfort in or at least overlook the notion of a growing class of robber barons yet are deeply threatened by Latino/a immigrants coming to America to work for less than the minimum wage. Over the last several decades, productivity in America has risen while real wages have declined. That is simply not the fault of immigrants. But perhaps blaming immigrants is easier than blaming our entire economic system, which is increasingly designed to bilk working class and middle class families for the benefit of the very rich. But I can’t help but wonder… if conservatives were right, if all the undocumented immigrants left the United States tomorrow and unemployed Americans took all those mostly-crappy, low-paying jobs, so that the already-profound gap between high income and low-income earners were to yawn even wider and the wealth gap increase, is that the Right’s idea of a solution? Sounds infinitely worse to me than treating our fellow human beings with basic decency and extending them the opportunity that we have so long held out for the world’s awe.
President Obama did the right thing. I wish he’d done it sooner. Providing a path to citizenship for America’s undocumented immigrants was supported by President George W. Bush and, incidentally, last enacted by President Ronald Reagan. So at the very least, I hope that conservative vitriol against undocumented immigrants has more to do with President Obama supporting them than any inherent, inhuman nastiness. I hope… Regardless, I am very proud of America and very proud to share her promise more broadly.
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10 Responses to The American DREAM
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For Fox commentator this really hits reasoning and heart.About time we Americans explain what we are about.
What planet do you live on? These people aren’t hard working.
These illegals do not get sent to the back of the line, they get sent to the back of the illegal line which is infront of the American Citizen line consisting of non-hispanic poor and disabled.
These “hard working” mothers get government money provided by tax payers for housing and food for their many children. How is popping out babies for free money and cleaning a house a day under the table is hard work?
Several of my neighbors are illegals. Each house owns several new nice trucks which take up all the parking and then some. Each house has no less than six children. These children all get tanf, foodstamps, free education and free medical care.
Meanwhile the jobless formerly tax paying American poor and disabled live in homeless shelters and under bridges.
The illegals have such hard lives.
I dare you to live on the streets like poor americans and to actually investigate real illegal parasites and see who has it harder.
And just because the rich aren’t paying their fair share doesn’t mean the parasitic criminal invaders are in the right. Both have greatly contributed to the destruction of the American working class.
I think the illegal parasites are worse because they bleed the social support system so dry there is none left for the actual citizens in need.
In 2010, United Farm Workers started a campaign called “Take Our Jobs” (www.takeourjobs.org). This campaign was an effort to help the unemployed in the U.S. Farmers were offering jobs to the unemployed and from what I remember, the results were not surprising. Out of approximately 1000 people who expressed their interest, only 12 actually accepted a job. Americans couldn’t handle the 100 degree temperatures, with either no breaks or very few breaks; with very little water or no water. Americans couldn’t handle the backbreaking work that immigrants do six or seven days a week; 10-12 hours a day.
So PUHLEEEEZE, Al, give me an effing break when you say immigrants aren’t hard working. Not only are they hard working…they would give YOU the shirt off their back if you asked them. Not only do they care about their families…they would treat YOU as a family member if you needed help. So get off your effing high and mighty horse and come back down with the rest of us human beings who actually treat each other as such!
Not one person has said immigrants don’t work hard. He said “illegals” and “parasitic criminal invaders.” I too live in an area primarily consisting of illegals. They are a complete blight on this country, and they couldn’t care less about anything you do for them. As far as they are concerned, we owe it to them for some perceived slight from generations ago. They hate America, fly their own flags, and have actually told me that they plan to kill many whites once the war starts! Stop trying to paint them as clean cut, generous, hard working people because the fact is, you’re living in a fantasy.
Tell me, do you know what “illegals” look like? Have you asked for their papers? Or do you just assume that they are all “illegals?”
The immigrants I have had contact with are mostly undocumented and are hardworking, generous and kind people (so believe me I’m not living in a fantasy world of any kind). Let me guess, Don, you live in Arizona right?
I find it hard to believe that Ms. Kohn and I live in the same country and that there is a perception out there that if you are successful you should be punished. I am hard pressed to tell my children why they should work hard to succeed. What for — so they can be made to feel as if they have no humanity?
If you think that millionaires and billionaires pay lower taxes than the rest of us, you don’t understand how the tax system works. How many times should people pay taxes on essentially the same money — the Corporation that earned the income paid taxes on that money, distributed a portion of the money as dividends and then the dividend receivers pay tax on that same money yet again. Higher earners also pay a higher marginal rate on their earned income. Most of us are not “Wall St. fat cats” that pay nothing as is alleged.
I don’t think anyone believes that children of illegals who came here not of their own volition should be rounded up and deported. However, there are legal channels for coming here – something that gets ignored. The President’s action was so transparently a political move and an end-run around Congress and “we the people.” I can’t even fathom what this country — now so horribly divided — will be like in 10 or 20 years. My father who is now in his 90s bemoans the fact that this is not the country that he fought for in WWII. It is ugly and getting uglier by the day and your diatribe and unbelievable “mischaracterization” of people who believe in conservative principles is astonishing and only contributes to divisiveness.
Very well written argument but flawed logic provides flawed suggestions. By opening the doors to the American Dream you dilute the pool of resources and create a situation where a educated illegal will take a job at a lower wage thus driving down wages and increasing the wealth gap. You write about other peoples “right” to the American Lifestyle and what you have failed to acknowledge is we asked them to stand in line and sign the guest book. The word Illegal has a definitive meaning. They are criminals in the eyes of the court. No amount of human compassion will change that. Looking the other way is a disgrace to your country and in some countries would get you thrown in jail. Try being an illegal immigrant in Mexico, or Germany, or Japan, or (God forbid) China, North Korea, Russia, Iran and see what happens to you. I was in Singapore when a car loaded with illegals tried to sneak out of the country after 3 years of living illegally in Singapore and they got caught. Each received 2-3 lashes with a cane and the driver was given 1 lash for each occupant – 6. plus 1-6 years in jail. We are the most receptive country in the world and all we ask is that you stand in line and sign the damn registry! The least you people on the left could do is apply the law as it was intended until it is changed.
I agree with most of the other people here.You live in a world different from me ..your educated and you have a job…I graduated High school in 1976 ,didn’t go to college and have had a bunch of different careers over the past decades( Industrial X-ray tech IBM operator 10 yrs! laser print operator HIGH SPEED MAIL inserting machine operator, and finally a corporate job.) right now I’m 54 yrs old out of work for like 3 yrs and trying to get a job as a school custodian in the small town that I now live in…HOPEFULLY I WONT HAVE TO FIGHT OFF A BUNCH OF ILLEGALS OVER THE JOB….you see its a crappy job that I need… signed 4th Generation American
What a stupid “Ding-bat” How many millions of hardworking AMERICANS PAID FOR RETARDS LIKE THIS FOOL. She just like to look down her nose at brown slave, and rule over them. Makes her feel all warm and fuzzy. We lost good paying building jobs to leeches from Mexico.
Slave wages for everyone, Illegal Mexican slaves, Mexican at home, “want a raise, go to the US” and the Americans that lost there jobs big corporate builders. Some one find out where this slave trader lives, and we can all get our money back. Now that the LAWS are optional.
Just astonishing that Fox dares to post your commentaries, Ms Kohn.
That said,
Allowing Americans to do farm work and harshly punishing those that hire “illegals” would result in that backbreaking, 100 degree 10-hour 12-hour day being compensated at a much higher level. Those Americans who were physically capable of the work would be uncommon and would be compensated for their rarity the way high performing employees tend to do better in ANY occupation. Fruit pickers might pull $15/hr if their picking were more productive than average instead of the $3.00/hr some are expected to accept. The labor pool drying up would promote higher wages just like in the late 90′s when McDonald’s was offering entry level workers 30% over minimum wage.
On a second point, I staunchly oppose going beyond DREAM-type kids for amnesty unless every single previously approved applicant for immigration to our great nation is granted their papers. Honor those who did the right thing before you award a single scofflaw the same chance. Empty out the INS backlog first, THEN talk to me about forgiving the turkeys who cut in line in front of the people demonstrating upstanding behavior.
None of this happens though when we keep voting for “conservative” pretenders who scream “border potection” and “build a fence” but say NOTHING about employer penalties. None of them advocate the Social Security Number verification that would send illegals packing.
Deportation? No need if no one hires them. Heck, I encourage as many foreigners to come here as they’d like if we have SS# verification. I call them “tourists.” Come to our nation. Spend your money. Enjoy yourselves! Then go home and earn some more and visit us again.
Just don’t bother looking for “Help Wanted” signs until you fill out the paperwork and wait your turn behind your dutiful countrymen who deserve the opportunities America still has left.