An Absurd Logic

I wrote and originally published this here in September, 2007. It is still timely.

Jenny was pregnant — seven months and two weeks pregnant. Jenny was homeless. Jenny had no money. What hope was there for her baby? Her husband was on the road, looking for work. His poor language skills coupled with his shabby appearance made it difficult for him to find employment that would pay enough to maintain a family. He certainly was in no position to help his wife, several hundred miles away, with her situation.

Winter was approaching and already the weather was cold. Huddled under a bridge with only a flimsy windbreaker for outer wear, Jenny shivered and cursed the night. She had spent the day combing through trash cans looking for food. She barely found enough to make a meal and what she did find was not fit for humans. She ate it, nonetheless. Jenny had tried to get public assistance but because she had no identifying documents and could list no home address that was not forthcoming.

In her desperation Jenny hit upon a plan. She had seen some homes that to her were like mansions. Rich people lived there, she surmised. If she could get into one of those she could hide in the attic or basement and at least be warm. When the people were not home she could filch some food — just a little bit; it wouldn't be missed, she thought. The next several days Jenny spent watching some of these houses to see what the habits of the occupants were and how she could enter unnoticed.

It took several weeks, the weather getting colder and the food getting scarcer. One home in particular presented an ideal situation. The owners were often gone and she notice they seldom locked the door when they left. She packed her few belongings and broke into the house. In the attic she found an out-of-the-way corner where she could remain unseen if anyone ventured up. It wasn't long, though, before she was discovered, arrested, and put in jail.

At her arraignment the judge told the homeowners that they would have to allow Jenny to live in their house. He scolded the homeowners for their callous, cruel, and uncaring attitudes. Not only that, they would have to feed her and pay for all her medical expenses. When her baby was born, they were told that they would be responsible for the child. They would have to provide the child housing, food, medical expenses, and when the time came they would also have to pay for the child’s education. “And if Jenny stays in your home for seven years, she will automatically become a member of your family with all the benefits that come with it,” the judge intoned. “She can bring her husband and parents in, too, and you’ll also have to support them.”

“But that’s not fair! That’s not right!” the homeowners remonstrated. And it’s not. But some of our legislators and politicians want you to think it is. That is why we will never get a handle on illegal immigration.

Check Your Sources

I recently received this in an email. The first part, relative to Alexander Tyler, I have read before. The statistics regarding the last Presidential election I had not seen nor do I know if they are factual. Anyway, I checked with a usually reliable source and found that, as with so many of this type of email, there are some truths, some lies, and some distortions.

One of the places I checked is http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/tyler.asp. I thought I smelled a rat when I noticed that Professor Olsen (a real person) taught at Hemline University School of Law. Hemline? It turns out that Professor Olson did not do the research, there are inaccuracies in the research, and Alexander Tyler is not the correct person. Read the Snopes.com article for a fuller explanation.

While it is probable that the facts regarding a democratic state are true or plausible, the cause being heralded is done no good through shoddy journalism (or whatever you want to call it). The conclusion to the email is definitely true, regardless of the errors in the preceding paragraphs.

Here is the email:

About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:

"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government."

"A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury."

"From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."

"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years."

"During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:

1. from bondage to spiritual faith;
2. from spiritual faith to great courage;
3. from courage to liberty;
4. from liberty to abundance;
5. from abundance to complacency;
6. from complacency to apathy;
7. from apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage"

Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:

Number of States won by:
Gore: 19
Bush: 29

Square miles of land won by:
Gore: 580,000
Bush: 2,427,000

Population of counties won by: Gore: 127 million
Bush: 143 million

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:
Gore: 13.2
Bush: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country. Gore's territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare..."

Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegal's and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA as we know it in as few as five years.

An Absurd Logic

Jenny was pregnant — seven months and two weeks pregnant. Jenny was homeless. Jenny had no money. What hope was there for her baby? Her husband was on the road, looking for work. His poor language skills coupled with his shabby appearance made it difficult for him to find employment that would pay enough to maintain a family. He certainly was in no position to help his wife, several hundred miles away, with her situation.

Winter was approaching and already the weather was cold. Huddled under a bridge with only a flimsy windbreaker for outer wear, Jenny shivered and cursed the night. She had spent the day combing through trash cans looking for food. She barely found enough to make a meal and what she did find was not fit for humans. She ate it, nonetheless. Jenny had tried to get public assistance but because she had no identifying documents and could list no home address that was not forthcoming.

In her desperation Jenny hit upon a plan. She had seen some homes that to her were like mansions. Rich people lived there, she surmised. If she could get into one of those she could hide in the attic or basement and at least be warm. When the people were not home she could filch some food — just a little bit; it wouldn't be missed, she thought. The next several days Jenny spent watching some of these houses to see what the habits of the occupants were and how she could enter unnoticed.

It took several weeks, the weather getting colder and the food getting scarcer. One home in particular presented an ideal situation. The owners were often gone and she notice they seldom locked the door when they left. She packed her few belongings and broke into the house. In the attic she found an out-of-the-way corner where she could remain unseen if anyone ventured up. It wasn't long, though, before she was discovered, arrested, and put in jail.

At her arraignment the judge told the homeowners that they would have to allow Jenny to live in their house. He scolded the homeowners for their callous, cruel, and uncaring attitudes. Not only that, they would have to feed her and pay for all her medical expenses. When her baby was born, they were told that they would be responsible for the child. They would have to provide the child housing, food, medical expenses, and when the time came they would also have to pay for the child’s education. “And if Jenny stays in your home for seven years, she will automatically become a member of your family with all the benefits that come with it,” the judge intoned. “She can bring her husband and parents in, too, and you’ll also have to support them.”

“But that’s not fair! That’s not right!” the homeowners remonstrated. And it’s not. But some of our legislators and politicians want you to think it is. That is why we will never get a handle on illegal immigration.

Illegals — They have a lot of gall!

I am proud to be an American. America is the land of my birth. My father was the son of an immigrant. My mother's anscestors arrived much earlier — before the Revolution. Without immigration I would not be here. I am not opposed to immigration or to immigrants. I am opposed to unlawful or illegal immigration.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer recently ran an article reporting on demonstrations for illegal immigrants. Typical of their thinking is this comment by immigrant and American citizen Melissa Woo: "Us [sic] immigrants aren't pieces of trash, we're human beings," she said. "To be treated as less than human is a travesty." If you are an American citizen than why are you protesting? Deportation of illegal immigrants is not a travesty — it is an imperative, a necessity.

Illegal immigrants are a drain on our economy. By coming into our country illegally they have already proven themselves unworthy of American citizenship. If they think so little of our laws when they cross the border, what makes you think they will become responsible law-abiding citizens afterwards?

As I was writing this I received an email addressing this subject. It was filled with half-truths and distorted facts. Wanting to verify the data it contained I visited Snopes.com and did a search on illegal immigration, resulting in 21 hits. Examining these reveals illegal immigration to be a highly-charged issue. Unfortunately, many of those opposed to illegal immigration are not opposed to twisting the truth.

A few years back I worked the night shift at an industrial bakery in Nevada. I was welcomed to the "VFW." When I showed my ignorance, I was told: "You are one of the Very Few Whites." And so I was. There were 8 Caucasians to over 300 Hispanics, mostly Mexican. Many spoke no English and some were illiterate. An INS raid also showed that many were illegals.

I do not blame any of my Hispanic co-workers for wanting to be here. We are the land of opportunity. I was slightly amused when told by a young man from Jalisco, "We spend all our lives of dreaming about coming to the United States — and then, after we are here we dream of the day we can go home." At any rate, I found all of them to be industrious and anxious to please. Rather than tell them, "You're in America — speak English," I learned to communicate with them in their language. I did encourage them to learn English and assisted those that were willing to learn with the nuances of our difficult speech.

The bottom line, though, is that illegal immigration is illegal. Just because a robber breaks into my home and manages to hide out for five, ten, or even twenty years does not give him the right to live with me. Hiding out for a long time does not make him moral or ethical. The same is true for illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants have no say, or shouldn't have.

America welcomes all who come through the front door with the proper invitation. Those that break and enter should be treated as the criminals they are.