A huge debate in Congress about whether people who have come to our country illegally should have the right to purchase health care insurance has prompted me to offer my two cents worth.
The growth and success of the United States has been driven by people who have immigrated to America, most all of them were seeking a better way of life, it’s true that some came to our shores against their will, but even those people, for the most part, found a better life than they experienced in their homeland.
Irish, German, Italian, Norwegians, Swedes and many other Europeans along with slaves from countries in Africa were early immigrants to our shores, they provided labor for the demands of a country that was booming because of opportunities provided by the foresight of our founding fathers, those early settlers who had the vision to realize the power of people to succeed when they are provided opportunity.
Some of the early settlers in America were indentured slaves; they were bound by a contract for a period of time to a master who, in essence, owned them. America has dealt in slavery from its beginning but few Americans realize that slavery still exists here. Slavery was not condoned by the founders that fashioned our constitution but compromises involving greedy special interests allowed slavery to continue for many years. Special interests and their influence on Congress allow defacto slavery to continue even today.
The issue of illegal immigrants in America is being perpetuated by those special interests who want to keep illegal people in bondage in order to profit from low wages. Nothing has really changed since the writing of our constitution and nothing will change until we close our borders and enforce the law.
Slavery is defined as “bondage to a master or household” so the majority of the early immigrants to our country could be considered slaves since most had little choice but to work as slaves, or be employed by slave masters in companies seeking people who would work for low wages, much the same as today when illegal immigrants come to our country seeking a better life.
Chinese people immigrated to America during the time the country was expanding to the west and many were employed building railroads. Chinese immigrants were treated much the same as black slaves, the only difference was that they made a choice to come here.
The success of the American experiment was due largely to labor provided by people immigrating to our shores, but more than that it provided opportunity for many of those same people to elevate themselves from slavery by becoming entrepreneurs, or what some might consider modern day slave masters.
Many changes have occurred through the evolution of the United States and, other than the illegal immigrants from Mexico and other South American countries, few people are enslaved by their employer (though many may feel they are). The biggest change we have seen in recent years is the destruction of opportunity for those who would like to lift themselves up from a perceived sense of slavery. The view of many, who want to junk the capitalist free enterprise system in favor of central government solutions, is mostly responsible for the killing of opportunity in America.
The big question Americans must ask themselves is this, would you rather be enslaved by your employer who you can tell to “take this job and shove it”, or enslaved by your government, with no options except to find another country.
Back to the original question, whether illegal immigrants should be able to purchase health insurance, it does make sense economically because the more people who participate to spread the risk the cheaper insurance rates are. However, the United States has laws and unless enforced they have no worth, when anyone who breaks the law is rewarded for doing so, what message does that send to future law breakers.
Because of bad government policy since the early 20th century, which has resulted in productive companies with better paying jobs leaving America, the United States doesn’t need immigration for low paid, low skilled jobs, it has plenty of people in the labor pool to fill those jobs, but most are unwilling because of a feeling of entitlement that has been created by politicians attempting to maintain a very prized position on their throne.
A recent news story about the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, that showed her connection to a slave, five generations ago, should fill all Americans with a feeling of pride about how America has dealt with the black slavery issue, but America still has people enslaved because of pure politics and greed.
As soon as we get rid of our guilt feeling about race and slavery and realize that all people perceive themselves as a slave at some point in their lives, and if we bond together to fix our income tax system that allows politicians to keep some people in bondage, and make government accountable to the people, we can restore the lost opportunity for all people in America.
This opinion article was written by Geezil, the Headmaster of the GeezilSchool. Http://geezilschool.net
By: Keith Brandon
Posts Tagged ‘Special Interests’
Immigration and Slavery
January 25th, 2010Can Ron Paul Cure America’s Apathy?
January 9th, 2010Most citizens in the United States of America do not vote. Many never registered to vote, many others are registered but simply don’t vote. In the last federal election, fifty nine percent of the registered voters in this country showed up to vote. Of approximately two hundred and seven million registered voters in this country, only one hundred and twenty two million felt that it was important enough to take some time out of their day to vote for the president of the United States. Of these, approximately sixty two million voted for George W. Bush and approximately fifty nine million voted for John Kerry. Approximately one million two hundred thousand people voted for someone other than the two main party candidates. This leaves approximately eighty five million registered voters that did not vote. Eighty five million people would have been enough for any of the candidates running; even those in any of the third parties who all got less than one percent of the vote, to win. Why did all these voters decide not to show up at the polls in 2004?
The answer to the above question is, of course, varied and complicated. Still, I am willing to bet that a majority of these voters were simply apathetic. Many of them probably felt helpless, or that their vote didn’t matter. If they had voted for George Bush or John Kerry, their votes would be wasted like the vast majority of votes are wasted when voting for a Republican or Democrat. That’s because these people know that Democrats and Republicans are, for the most part, already bought and paid for by corporations and special interests. They have no faith in the current system because the current system has been corrupted and let us down for as long as most can remember. Many of them probably never realized that their numbers were enough that they could have voted in third party candidates at any time if they had just gotten up and voted for them. They have repeatedly been told that voting for third party candidates was a waste of a vote until they are so brainwashed that they believe the propaganda and they decide to stay home and not vote. They believe that there are only two choices. They believe that they have to vote for the lesser of two evils and so they decide not to vote at all rather than vote for evil. They believe that nothing will change no matter who they vote for, that the government is just going to do what it wants, going so far as to break its own laws and regulations. They see their rights eroding away and still they do nothing, believing that the system is broken beyond repair and there is nothing they can do about it. They walk through life disowned by the system, wanting nothing but to be left alone and instead their government gets more intrusive after each election. Feeling robbed by a callous government, they scream for relief wanting only to be able to mind their own business and their shouts fall upon deaf ears. They tire of war and the corruption and grief that go with it, and even after they send out a rallying cry around it, even when they let their feelings be known in an unequivocal manner by electing what they thought would be an anti-war congress, their cries are ignored. It is no wonder the voters are apathetic. They have given up hope.
Ron Paul hasn’t. He still believes in America. He still believes in the constitution. He still believes in the Bill of Rights. He still believes people matter. He fights from within the two party systems, wanting to take back one of the parties for the people, wanting to bring back fair representation for all and not just the wealthy few. He wants to reintegrate those eighty five million people and give them back hope. He wants to give us all the freedom to decide our own destinies, and he wants to do it by decreasing the size of government and giving us the ability to decide for ourselves what is truly important in our personal lives. This is his true agenda, and those in power are frightened by it. They know the power of the individual, they know the power of free choice and they know the power of the truth. That is why they try to make you believe he has no chance of winning, why they portray him as a Libertarian whose dreams and ideals are just too impractical for today’s world. That is why they wanted to exclude him from the last debate. The other candidates want the apathy to remain in place. They want to maintain control of you. Ron Paul wants to give you back the control you so richly deserve, the control that the Bill of Rights states the government will not take from you.
Ron Paul is not only a politician, he’s a doctor. When he practiced medicine he was honest with his patients and expected them to take part in their treatment. To do this, he may have, at times, tried to change the attitude of his patients. Sometimes that’s more important than anything else a doctor can do. He has diagnosed America’s problems and has come up with a treatment for them. Part of the problem in America is apathy. He can fight this problem with his message of freedom and liberty. More than this, he can fight it by his actions, which anyone can see by his voting record. He consistently voted against legislation that removes our freedoms and replaces them with government nannyism. This message is a powerful one, and if it gets out to the apathetic it may resonate within them and get them to become active in America’s treatment. If enough of us spread the word, if enough of us realize our ills and take action to help treat them, Ron Paul just might be able to cure America’s apathy, and other diseases inflicting our country as well. Register as a republican. Vote for Ron Paul. Vote for other freedom advocates running for congressional offices. Become involved. It is time to restore hope to our country. It is time for us to reclaim our personal responsibility. It is time for us to once again care.
By: Rahul awasthi
