DACA, Visa Over-stays, Illegals ... IF ONLY ...

IF ONLY our laws had been enforced all the way down the line.

IF ONLY our judicial system had stepped up to the plate and given a resounding 'NO!', backed up by the House and the Senate when somebody just upped and made a unilateral and unconstitutional decision all by his lonesome (because, you know, he had a phone and he had a pen).

We can 'if only' until the cows come home.

The fact of the matter is that we have been handed a rather daunting situation and somebody's going to have to figure out what to do about it. We cannot go back and change anything; all we can do is the best we can with what we have to work with.

Thankfully, we do have our Constitution. Although it has been kind of ignored in recent years it is still our guide and our law.

Because somebody did ignore it, and nobody stepped up to say, 'Hey, you can't do that; it's unconstitutional!' we've got a mess on our hands. That it didn't have to happen in the first place is entirely moot, except for the unlikely possibility of somebody getting held accountable for what he has wrought. As I say ... unlikely. I think the DACA folk ought to sue him as an individual (not the government), a class action suit, for landing them in this boat. He could have chosen otherwise; he could have enforced the law of our land; he could have insisted that their parents obtain citizenship; he could have made it mandatory that they apply for citizenship upon reaching their majority (or leave at that time) ... they've all got to be going through some powerful anxiety as a result of his actions ... he himself, out of his own pocket (although over a million/year plus a lot more for secret service is coming out of OUR pockets) ought to at LEAST pay any associated fees for them to obtain citizenship as well as any mental health services required for them to cope with their lot. HIS pocket, not OURS. We're the ones who are already lining his pockets; why should we have to pay multiple times for how he chose to use his phone and his pen? Which we also paid for, come to think of it. Uffda.

There are now hundreds of thousands of folks who are not guilty of anything except having had parents who broke the laws (which weren't  being enforced anyway). They are innocent (unless they've broken laws themselves - other laws, not the ones broken by their parents) and do not deserve to be punished for something they did not do. That's a fact.

Because one branch of our government, without being checked or balanced by either of the others, did something that was illegal, We the People have been saddled with the sorry situation of having to look askance at all three of our branches of government. Many of the 'guilty parties' are still right where they were when they failed us as a nation. That too will have to be dealt with.

The issue at hand is poignantly heart-rending. Hundreds of thousands of innocent lives are on the line. Maybe not literally, but they will most assuredly be affected (as will we all) over the course of the next months as the legislative branch of government, who should have been the ones to either deal with this in the first place or at least stepped up to either confirm or deny what the executive branch chose to do unilaterally (AND - I presume - the judicial branch, who also should have come out with a very clear statement about the constitutional validity - as in the lack thereof - of said choice) are at last called to task about the whole thing.

I'm just a little old lady and not personally affected by DACA, except in the sense that as a citizen of the United States of America I am inherently as culpable as anybody else.

So what are we going to do about all these folks who are just living their lives out as best they can, but are suddenly faced with the consequences of the actions of others?

Are we going to turn them out?

I think not.

That they are now adults is a factor that has to be taken into consideration.

That they have been well aware of their status for all this time has to be taken into consideration.

That they have, each and all, had ample opportunity to apply for legitimate citizenship, and could have done so as soon as they reached their majority, has to be taken into consideration.

Some of the culpability here belongs squarely on their shoulders as well as on those of the (now-ex) executive branch of our government, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch - and our own as we didn't step up to say, 'Hey that's unconstitutional, what are you DOING!?!' either.

We're all guilty, when it comes right down to it.

Solutions?

I have no 'solutions', only thoughts on the matter.

I'm thinking that every last one of our DACA folk need to get themselves posthaste to the closest immigration office and get their paperwork started.

I'm thinking the legislative branch needs to clearly and definitively put an end to the continuance of something that was unconstitutional in the first place.

I'm thinking that the judicial branch has got to present a decisive ruling on the matter.

I'm thinking that enforcement ought to be stepped up even more, to clear out the criminal elements.

All of these things ought to have been done long since but 'long since' is long gone.

Now is going to have to suffice.

I looked up the DACA thing and the guidelines are pretty clear. The people affected fall into specific parameters, which does help.

It's not like this is the end of the world, folks. It's just got to be taken care of so everyone can calm down and get on with getting on.

The same goes for those who are over-staying their visas. They can follow the rules about renewing them if that's an option, or they can go home. It's not complicated.

I have a feeling it's liable to come as a shock to some peoples' systems that there really are actual laws in our nation, and that (until/unless duly changed) they're (GASP!) supposed to be followed. I know there has been a great deal of 'flexibility' these past years about that little detail, and it might take a while for the concept to sink in. Hopefully it won't take too long.

When it comes down to it, the same goes for all of the illegals among us. It seems to me that, while our legislative branch is dealing with this one part of the whole they may as well extrapolate and deal with the rest of it at the same time. If your paperwork for citizenship is in the works, and; if you're gainfully employed or enrolled in a bonafide educational/training program, and; if you've been here straight through for five years or so, and; if you have no criminal record ... welcome home. Everyone else, so sad too bad, you had your chance, out you go.

Effective immediately, until we as a nation get back onto our feet and can assess our ability to take on anything more, the doors are closed. To everyone.

That's about the only way I can see the whole thing.

No doubt I'm not being 'politically correct' here but honestly I don't much give a rodent's behind about being 'politically correct'.

It's not the current administration's fault, this mess. It's part of the 'legacy' of the one/s before. A disrespect for the laws of our land, coming from the highest of our governmental positions, has been disheartening for a lot of us. For those who didn't know, didn't care, or welcomed it ... I don't know what to tell you except that now you know. You might still not care, and you might not welcome the return of our Constitution, but now at least you know.

God bless us all, and most especially those directly affected by what's coming down the pike including those whose paths are to enforce what has to be done.

And ... you know ... God bless our President. Mr. Trump's destiny is not one many of us would envy. His is the task of righting the wrongs of others, on our behalf I might add. The least we can do is give him our prayers and not get in his way.

Taking care of our DACA folk is a step.

Our legislative branch has six months to get something done that ought to take a whopping fifteen minutes tops. IF they can't manage to do even that much, I hope they're busy getting alternative careers planned and prepared for. It's too bad they can't be 'recalled', but they sure as heck don't have to be re-elected. None of them, on either side of the aisle. We can't repeal them, but we can most certainly replace them.

Our DACA folks have those same six months to get their rears in gear and get their paperwork started, get a job or enroll in a training program, prove their residency for the past five years, and make sure their records are clean and clear. The ones who can't/won't do those things might want to take this opportunity to vacate our nation voluntarily.

IF (yes that IF is in capital letters and in bold) our legislative branch isn't completely dead, and they know the meaning of the word 'extrapolate', it's not just the DACA folk who might want to be taking care of the paperwork, the job/training, the documentation of residency for five years, and proof of a law-abiding lifestyle.  As for the Visa folks, just get 'em renewed or go home.

Just sayin'.

Ach. But what do I know?

Here's a 'politically incorrect' perspective:

A quick on line search popped some numbers that sort of made me blink.

"Estimates of the size of the illegal alien population currently living in the U.S. range from about 12 million to over 20 million."

The only states of our fifty that exceed or even come close to the lower number are California, Texas, Florida, New York,(exceed) Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Ohio (come close).

Splitting the difference and going with 16 million, that's more than the combined populations of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah.

I dunno what to think about this, I truly don't. 

We've got an ILLEGAL population that out-numbers all but seven of our fifty states.

Mexico's population is about 122.3 million. Canada's is about 35.16. 

Huh. 

If ten percent of our 320 million just up and go to Canada (I heard they have better health care) we'd almost double their population. Not that we will. But if we did ... I don't think anybody has to wonder much what kind of reaction there would be. We might try to make all of them stop saying 'Eh' because it annoys us; if they objected we could just move another percent or two on up on our behalf and have them out-numbered so we could pass a law stating that saying 'Eh' is henceforth illegal.

They might get so fed up with us that they'd move to Mexico and we'd have us a fine game of musical countries.

Okay, maybe I'm a little feverish from that god-awful medicine.


Hopefully I'll be back to my normal self soon and stop thinking about trivial things so I can focus on which shoes I'm going to wear to work.

Listening to the Elders

Opinions are indeed a dime a dozen. Everyone’s got at least several.

Options really do abound, but options they will remain – sitting right there on the table but so far off to the side that they’re more likely to get knocked onto the floor by somebody’s elbow than they are to be noticed.

Viable Solutions have become rarer than hens teeth. As more and more of those Options hit the floor, unseen and unnoticed, the Viable Solutions they could have been used to both generate and implement are rapidly dying out and disappearing before our very eyes.

What are we going to do about it?

We don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings, nor to offend – yet what of our own feelings, the offenses directed at us?

Rise above all that, we are told. Reach out to those who are doing the hurting and the damage. We smile rather bitterly, and nod our obedient heads.

Our elders offer a different approach.

We look askance at our elders, appalled at the words coming out of their mouths. I work with lots of elders; it’s my job. When it comes to that, my own years are quickly carrying me into the Elder Zone. I find myself appalled at the thoughts coming into my own mind these days and sometimes look askance at my own reflection.

But nobody’s asking for their opinions, nobody’s listening to the options they’re talking about. Nobody wants to hear that harsh measures might not be so harsh in the long run if you use them with some judicial wisdom and mercy.

No they’re not talking about raising taxes.

 ‘We,’ they say, ‘have enough revenue, enough resources, to meet our own needs.’

‘What we do not have,' they say, 'is enough to carry the rest of the world.’

Well, nobody’s talking about us having to carry the whole wide world here, you know.

It just seems like there are a lot more people here in our land than belong here, and those we have been carrying.

‘Get them out,’ say the elders. ‘They can wait until they’re invited – and those who do the inviting will have them in their own homes – but nobody’s inviting anybody until we get our own messes straightened out.’

It’s like America decided to throw a party and got all kinds of party-crashers showing up out of the blue.

‘Sure we want to be hospitable but for heaven’s sake those people are taking what we prepared. Where’s the respect? Where’s the consideration? Where are the good manners?’

‘Get them out of here. We’d like to enjoy the fruits of our own efforts.’

More voices add their bits, beginning to show some of their frustration.

‘They’re going to eat us out of house and home. Who the heck told them they could just barge into somebody else’s home and help themselves to what they had nothing to do with making? Get them out.’

That would be the reaction of most of us to anyone who crashed any family or community event.

We would send the crashers packing and be rather upset at having to set guards to keep them from doing it again – but guards would be set and invitations issued and checked at the door from then on – at odds with the way things are supposed to be around here, but we would most assuredly do it. We wouldn’t be happy about it but we would do it.

What we spend on illegals in our country ought to be going to an equal number of our own – many thousands of our elders and other vulnerable folk could use that money. Think how many millions could be helped. As many as there are illegals.

‘We don’t want to be mean about it, but really – they’re being the mean ones, not to mention rude - and we just can’t afford them. Get them out and take care of your own, like their folk should be doing. Maybe when things get better some of them can come back, the ones with decent manners.’

‘I heard there’s a bunch who don’t think they even have to obey our laws, that they can just have their own. Who brought these people up to think that’s okay? Really. It is not okay.’

Onward.

The elders also advocate creativity and conservation of resources.

Some of these elders are from times long past, and they remember their own elders’ stories.

‘If we ran out of wood we burned corn cobs.’

‘The windmill brought up our water.’

We’re going to run out of fossil fuels one of these days. We aren’t likely to run out of sunshine, wind, water.

‘We didn’t have electricity. If we were running low on lamp oil we went to bed when it got dark. We had to get up early anyway to do chores. Then we’d hitch up the horse and go to school.’

‘Mama made my dresses out of flour sacks. We used what we had and made the most of it.’

‘We did the wash once a week and hung it out on the line to dry. The sun and wind were our clothes dryer.’

‘One year Daddy bought fancy glass lights for our Christmas tree and they were pretty but couldn’t light up without electricity. Daddy took the battery from the tractor and hooked up the lights. It was only for a few minutes but we had a lit up Christmas tree that year.’

So yeah, these folks advocate finding and using whatever forms of energy can be counted on for the future needs of our people.

‘The little ones fed the chickens and gathered eggs. When we got big enough we could carry the feed pails for the pigs and then could throw hay bales for the cows and horses.’

These are the folk who worked, and worked hard, from childhood on – because that’s just the way it was.

These are the folks we don’t want to listen to.

‘We were too busy minding our own business to pay much attention to anyone else’s – except we always found out, you know, if someone got sick or died or something. If their family needed a hand with the harvest, we’d all just do it. Or building a house or a barn for someone. We made it into a kind of party. And our mothers and grandmothers got together to make quilts. We built and made a lot of our own things. We used to make kites out of sticks and string and paste. We’d get a ball of yarn from Mama, wind it up real tight, and find a good stick to use for a bat – and we played baseball in the yard after we got our chores done. Sometimes we’d go swimming in the creek. And there was always school and church where we’d see our friends.’

Minding their own business, helping friends and family and neighbors when need be, getting their work done, socializing with each other, and just living their lives as best they could sounds like something out of a book.

It hasn’t been so very long, my friend. Only a bare generation or two back these bits of stories were lived by our own elders. Some things endure to this day in some places.

I for one cannot fault our elders for wondering about the rest of us. I cannot fault them for looking around them, hearing the news, and feeling as though a bunch of party-crashers are cashing in on what they spent their hard-working lives building to protect them in these their elder years, and for the future generations of their own families to continue to build on and appreciate.

‘What happened?’

A frustrated elder looks at me, news of terror on the television and a Social Security notice in hand.

‘What happened? Where did all these people come from and what are they doing here? Who invited them?’

‘I don’t know,’ is all I can say, an inadequate response.

‘I don’t know.’

‘Well they need to go back to wherever they came from. Then close the doors while we clean house. And get our soldiers home. We could use them to guard our borders – and us. Let the rest of the world fight their own battles for once.’

Many of our elders would give just about anything to be able to go back and work even harder than they did.

‘We should have been able to stop this before it got started. We didn’t even see it coming. Now we’re stuck and so are you.’

‘Well, it is what it is.’

‘But how are you young people going to stop it?’

And I smile because I am not a young person.

‘We have some pretty smart young people these days. They’ll figure it out.’

‘Well, they better hurry up about it. I’m not so sure there are any smart people left.’

I smile again.

‘They’ll figure it out.’

‘They better.’

In my opinion we should listen to our elders.