Part of the reason no blogs have blogged out of me is that Emily, Madeleine, Liam and I are in a golden age of sorts. This is definitely a time that I will someday look back upon fondly as "the good old days." Madeleine has breakfast with me every morning, and rushes to greet me at the door every evening when I get home from work. Emily and I spend long hours on our couches, discussing life and our family and our future plans. And Liam's face lights up into a big, dimply smile when he lays eyes one me. There is simply not a single thing I could ask for.
So, rarely do I have a private moment to write out my thoughts. I'm making time for it now though because I have recently noticed that my memory is beginning to slip. I attribute it less to age as I do to lack of environmental change. The memories in this house are building up, happily. But I find even my daydreaming has begun to fall into cyclic routines much like the household chores. So, for my own sake, I must continue to document my thoughts.
One current event-themed thought, perfect for documenting; Immigration. Personally, I believe in loving and respecting all humans, regardless of nationality. I suppose that could be a "globalist" view, but perhaps that warrants further discussion. At any rate, I have difficulty understanding the reasoning behind granting privileges to people simply based on what latitude and longitude they happen to have been born at. (Not that they had much choice in that matter.) Now, I do understand the practical applications of citizenship, but it is my failure to grasp the root logic of it that is confusing to me.
Furthermore, I believe that it is my American upbringing that only confounds the issue. I understand that at certain points along my ancestry, my families arrived as immigrants to the country. The "assimilated," sure. But they also added their own unique ingredient to the melting pot. An American culture that did not include the flavors of Native, Central, and South Americans, Africans, Asians, and Pacific Islanders would hardly be recognizable as distinct from European. On an even closer scale, we have a pan-European culture mixed in as well. Distinct strains of German, French, Italian, British, Scandinavian, Greek, Irish, Russian, Baltic, Balkan, Belorussian and more are all evident in our country. And even then, there is a distinct "Americanness" to it all. The idea that immigrants must "assimilate" and "speak the language" is preposterous. It is only by proudly adding their own patches to our quilt that they are true Americans. And it is only by accepting them that we are truly America.
So, gracefully ignoring any sort of potential racism, the fight against immigration seems suspect at best. The idea appears to be based upon a melange of actual facts, unverifiable claims, reliable and unreliable statistics and conjectures, and downright lies. And the attitude is bolstered merely by anecdotal evidence.
Another day we can explore the ramifications of the concept of citizenship. But for now, I feel quite convinced; give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
