It has
been my privilege to be a citizen of this country since 1968, when my army duty
was completed. Prior to that I had two years as an immigrant under asylum and four
years as a resident.
In
all this time I have voted in every election and done so proudly and gratefully;
this is a right earned, not given. As it is in every other country where free elections
are held it is the right and, in several cases, the legal duty of every citizen
to exercise this voting privilege. And also, in every one of these countries, in
order to vote you must show an identification which proves you indeed have the
right to do so.
Why
did I come or was sent as a youngster to the US? My country of birth saw the
coming of a government which promised the Heavenly Gates and delivered all of
us straight to the doors of Hell. This happened mid-20th century but
was the beginning of the so-called “Socialism of the 21st. Century”;
a trend, directly fed and promoted by that first government, that has turned several Latin
American countries and economies to rubble and dust, causing much pain, suffering
and death to their citizens along the way.
As
you might guess by the above, although registered as an independent, I will
usually vote for the more conservative offering. Not of extreme right, mind you,
but definitively right of center. I do this by choice based on painful life experience.
Not only in my own country but also in several countries where I have had the privilege
of living and working as an ex-pat. Those governments which tend to want to force
the thinking of their citizens, or to limit their capacity to earn, or to keep
and enjoy the fruit of their work, are usually governments which are not of and
for the people. But for themselves. And these, as a norm, tend to be left wing socialist governments in developing countries. Extreme right
governments tend to follow the same line, for reasons they present as
different. But they are the same in the end. Personal power and enrichment. And
the inability, or unwillingness, to accept anyone who thinks differently.
Why
am I coming around to write about this? We live in an imperfectly perfect country.
A country which has had open doors for many years and has welcome those who
needed refuge. Over generations, most have come here using the established
process in any one of its several variants. Yet, the last 10-15 years has seen
a definitive shift in this pattern.
Under
the guise of open-door policies, we now see organized, large groups of people
who come carrying signs that speak out against the very system they are
supposedly hoping will get them out of their living misery. They are not using
any established process; it’s been likened to having some strangers break into a
home in the middle of the night and then force the rightful homeowner to
clothe, shelter, feed and take care of them. I can’t, in any way, agree to this
as being “acceptable”.
This
is not easy to say because I say it as an immigrant. This country of ours is a
constitutional country, based on laws and processes. Because of this, we have
grown. It is not a perfect system; there is no such thing where human shortcomings
are involved. But as systems go, and after having tried first hand several
different ones, I know it works well; better than any other I have experienced.
Especially for the individual citizen.
This
is precisely what keeps attracting people from all over the world to come here. But a
process must be followed; the concept of “open borders” has brought
catastrophic results to several countries in Europe. Some are at the point of
internal collapse; others have reversed their policies in order to survive. The
cost of a major, unchecked influx of people who are unable or not willing to to
adapt to the existing structure, can only be borne by increased internal spending
and this can only be achieved by increasing taxes on those who produce an
income. This segment of the population can only bear so much before exploding,
or imploding. And with this, so goes the structure of the system, the core of
the country and its society as we know it.
Do we
have a system and a country worth fighting for? I am convinced we do. Does the
system need some fixing? Yes, it does but this doesn’t mean destroying it. It
means working within it to make it better and, at the same time, preserving it
to bring the same benefits it has brought us, to our future generations.
The
choice is up to every one of us. And in this analysis, ignoring the real issues should
not be considered an acceptable alternative.
Be
Well … Be Back!!!
Final Notes:
· Pray
for those who are
fighting an illness which may take them away from their loved ones… Every
request is heard, and counts!!
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