Archive for May, 2007
You can’t pick your natives…
You can’t pick your natives. Any nation on earth is pretty much stuck with what they have for native citizens, the ones who are descendants of the founding folks or others who came in later – the ones born within the borders of that nation. It’s much like family. You can’t pick who your parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, grandparents, cousins, etc are. You’re born into your family and that’s that.
However, speaking individually, you CAN pick your friends. You can pick those you associate with and thus compensate for any perceived shortcomings in your relatives by providing yourself with “a better class of friend” – or not. And as a nation, although you can’t pick your citizens, you CAN pick your immigrants. You can choose who to allow to enter your borders and remain there under the benefit and rule of law.
Let’s look at the issue of illegal immigration from the other side of the border, but first a history lesson. The United States of America was founded by men with families who came to build. The first permanent settlers brought their wives, their sons, their daughters and settled in to build, to produce, to prosper. They came to provide a new life for themselves where they could breath and worship freely, unfettered by that which hindered them in their homeland. And succeeding generations of immigrants came for the same reason.
To the south of us in what today is called “Latin America” things were different. Bands of men, many of them freed from prison and obligated to participate, came to those southern shores to conquer. NOT to build and certainly not with their wives and children in tow. Their goal was to come, to conquer, to become rich and then return to their homeland a “Big Shot” – thus compensating for the danger and discomfort of their incursions into a foreign land.
Two different mindsets, two different results. And those results still are in effect today. All to often folks in the US look at the issue of illegal immigration from the receiving end and don’t look at the consequences brought about by the decision of a foreign national to break the laws and enter our land illegally. They may look at the opportunity to have a “cheap babysitter” or a “cheap lawn care guy” or a “cheap food harvester” – but very rarely do they look at what is behind their apparent bargain. You see, the decision to enter our land illegally has consequences in other parts of the world.
My wife and I live and work (legally) in the country of Colombia. On a daily basis either one or both of us have dealings of one sort or another with folks who have relatives living abroad – a huge percentage of which are there “informally” (Ok, OK! – ILLEGALLY). We see children of various siblings, all living with Grandma because their parents are in England, Spain, Japan and the US – illegally. The consequences on the lives of these children are clear. No solid paternal nor maternal influence, no discipline, no true love. These lead to an astounding level of teenage sexual experimentation, unplanned, unwed, young teen pregnancy, drug experimentation, depression and other such results of abandonment by those who, just like their forefathers, have gone into a far land, not to build but to plunder.
Now, not all who enter our borders illegally are folks who’ve abandoned their families to do so. That is clear. And sometimes they find ways to get their children up there and perhaps will manage to lead a “normal” life with them – or not. I’ve lost track of how many kids I’ve met here who “washed out” of life in the US in one way or another. The difference between cultures is vast and the difficulty of adjusting is compounded by the necessity of keeping a low profile due to the danger of being deported – however slight the actual danger may be.
So what? So, you can’t pick your natives, the folks born to you as citizens. BUT you CAN pick your immigrants. Do we REALLY want to encourage those who only seek to plunder us? Do we REALLY want to bring in people who will sacrifice their very offspring in order to “live the good life”? We’ve got enough of those as natives as it is! Should we not seek to encourage those who want to come and build? Should we not seek those who have the same motivations as our forefathers did? Should we not seek out those who only want the freedom and liberty to be able to build and improve their lives? Why encourage and retain those who only want to come and plunder our land so they can return home as “bigshots” to lord it over others there?
WE CAN CHOOSE – IF we use our collective power to DEMAND that our nations leaders do what is right. WE CAN CHOOSE the rule of law rather than to reward those who break our laws. We can encourage those who want to come to our shores to BECOME AMERICANS rather than those who come to be Mexican, Indian, Chinese, Guatemalan or whatever else. In other words, our immigration policy should be one that allows folks to come and integrate. Those who will learn our national language and will learn to assimilate rather than try to make us into a copy of their own third world nation.
The question is, “Will we?” Will we demand the rule of law? Will we demand that our leaders fulfill their duty to choose well those who are allowed to enter our borders?
Only time will tell.
Posted in 
On the legalization of millions of law breakers
Our nation is at a crossroads in her history. A nation made great by basing herself on the eternal principles established by the Creator Himself has reached the point where her leaders are contemplating, even urging adamantly, the incorporation into the union of several million people who’s very presence in the national boundaries is contrary to the nation’s laws. Their rallying cry? “We are a nation of immigrants!”
Yes, the United States of America is a nation of immigrants. From the very first hunter/gatherers who crossed over the land bridge into what today is Alaska, to the Puritans who sailed on the Mayflower, to the millions who passed through Ellis Island – fleeing the anarchy of the Old World and seeking a new life in the New. However, unlike the millions who have slipped over our borders or who have overstayed their temporary visas, ever since the time of the Pilgrims the immigrants who came to what today is the United States of America came and stayed under the rule of law. The very nation was founded on the notion that Law should rule over anarchy and that the breaking of Law should have consequences. These notions built our nation. They made her great. No other nation on the face of the earth has been so blessed as the United States of America – because from the beginning she recognized her Creator and that laws must be equitable – applying to all.
Now, however, we have a race of professional politicians who know not the meaning of principle nor do they recognize the difference between Right and Wrong. They pander to the unprincipled and the ignorant, standing only for licentiousness and opposing any who dare stand for what is Right. Those of us who say “Let Law Rule” are called bigots – by the very bigots who look down on us for our principles – things they understand not for they have been blinded by their “open mindedness” – having minds open to anything other than what is Right.
So, what should be done about the millions who live within our borders illegally? They should NOT be pardoned nor allowed to reap benefits for their decision to break our laws. They carry signs in our streets saying “We are not criminals” – and yet they ARE criminals. For they have broken our immigration laws – and that is a crime. Do we have a powerful problem before us? Yes, indeed we do. The borders should have been controlled these many decades since – and now we must pay the price for the negligence of those who came before us. There should be a deportation policy in effect. Each and every person who is within our borders illegally should be rounded up and sent back. If, and ONLY if, they go through the proper channels and paperwork should they be allowed to return. Will this break up families? Only if they choose to break them up. Families incorporating law breaking aliens will have to make the tough decision – do we stay in the US or go with our loved one? It’s their decision – and theirs alone. The decision of the one who is being deported to enter our nation illegally was a decision to suffer whatever consequences would befall them – and rests squarely upon their own head.
Of course, it is best if those who reside in our midst against our laws should return to their home countries on their own. Perhaps we should only allow those who voluntarily leave (as opposed to those who obligate us to deport them) the possibility of one day returning to our land – as legal and welcome immigrants according to the laws of our nation. Those who reside illegally within our borders should NOT be rewarded for their breaking of our laws by putting them at the front of the line in our embassies for visas – but if they DO return to their homeland voluntarily then we should recognize that fact and when their turn comes up for review their repentance should be taken into account.
Will some say this solution is “harsh”? Of course. But even harsher is the slap in the face of every law abiding citizen or person who seeks lawful entry to our nation should millions of people be allowed to remain within our borders in violation of our immigration laws.
Who’d a thunk it?
ABC came out with a pretty decent look at the issue of “gun control” and how it does NOT reduce crime. I’d never have imagined that they’d put up a piece like this, but they did! A big thanks to Hobie for posting the link on his blog, Two Old Soldiers It’s a 6 minute or so video and points out some very interesting information.
500,000 people
Half a million. That’s a lot of folks. It’s more than I “can shake a stick at” so to speak. 
 And that’s roughly the population of the metropolitan area of Pereira, the capital of Risaralda where we live and work. 500,000 – more than ten times the size of the town where I was born. More than 12 times the size of the town where my sons were born. More than 5,000 times larger than the town where my father preached when I was a child.
500,000 people – and they all need the opportunity to hear the gospel. Some consider themselves quite religious. Some have never thought about the matter. And yet they all need to have a personal relationship with their Creator and Redeemer. They all need to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus the Christ.
Right now we are seeking a better place to meet. The living room where we’re meeting right now has reached capacity – and that’s because not everyone is able to come right now. One lady is on the verge of giving birth. One family can not afford the bus fare for them all to come. And there are other folks with other reasons.
So, where does one find a place to reach out to 500,000 people from? Where should we go? What do we need? How do you reach 500,000 people with the Gospel? That last question is the easy one. You reach 500,000 people one at a time. We don’t expect that the place the Lord leads us to will enable us to reach every soul in this town. But we DO need a place that is reachable by more people with whom we already have contact. And when the time comes we’ll seek out another place, and another, and another. Because we’re called to be salt to this world and the salt does no good if it’s clumped up.
Thirteen time zones
Last night as I was getting ready to close down the computer for the night I received a Skype call. I almost didn’t catch it because I had the sound turned way down, but the program flashed in the lower right corner and I saw it. Chuck Johnston in Taiwan was calling. We’ve had each other on Skype for some time now, but had never taken the time to do much more than type “Hi!”. Well, it was a real blessing to hear from him. I’ve known of the Johnstons in Taiwan for some time, more than a couple decades and studied with their kids in college. In fact, one of my boyhood “cousins” from Brasil married one of the Johnston daughters.
We talked for a while and caught up on a few things, traded blog addresses and other ‘net stuff. And as we were talking it came out that we live thirteen time zones apart. WOW! That’s a LONG ways out there, to say the least. And yet, even though we work in different parts of the globe with different styles of ministry – we’re still brothers in Christ! What a joy to know that others are proclaiming the gospel all around the globe, working with people in places I’d never thought of going to, teaching people to serve God, creating a better world for all of us to live in.
I thank God for the Johnstons and their long time ministry in Taiwan. I thank God for all the people who have given up their lives to serve Him in far off places.  I thank God for giving each of us special talents and abilities and the desire to serve Him in different parts of the harvest field.
