Controversial Topic Discussion

OT: Hey everybody! Thanks for the conversation! I would like to open this up to anybody who has been reading along, not participating in the contest, at this time. I would also like to request that we reduce the thread splitting. I'm a bit anal and I like a nice neat forum. If there is a specific line of thought that deserves another thread, please post a new thread, but be sure to very specifically detail what makes that thread different from the other ones. Thanks in advance!

The goal of this forum is to stimulate thought processes that may not be part of our daily lives. I've received some emails today to the effect that this type of discussion has nothing to do with the writing process. This is yet another opinion of mine, but I think that writers can become stronger by understanding what they believe and explaining it to other people constructively. Many people believe things and never really think about them, discussion almost always stregthens beliefs and resolve and can inspire some powerful writing.

Back on topic. When I suggested this topic I was being foolishly small-world minded and am suprised and pleased by the international participation. I'm glad now that I left it so broad because I hadn't known about all the other issues around the globe that people have shared about. When I posted the topic I was thinking specifically about the boarder that the US shares with Mexico and to that I will direct my thoughts.

If you've read any of my other posts from elsewhere in this forum you probably know I am a bit naive and a bit idealistic. I have however participated in a few mission trips to Mexico and one to Nicaragua and have experienced the terrible living conditions in those locations. So I can absolutely understand the desire many people have to improve the chances their children have for a better life. There are so many aspects of this topic, it is a little overwhelming.

As a melting pot culture, we will always have immigration and emmigration. The problem, as many have already pointed out, is the legality of some of that immigration. Ideally (I told you I'm idealistic) we would scrap all forms of "border defense" and spend that significant amount of money on programs to help Mexico improve its economy and infrastructure such that the desire to immigrate to the US would not be there. This isn't going to happen in my lifetime...However, I think that programs are in place that can help people come in and take those jobs that nobody else wants, these programs need more financial assistance because they are win-win. People come here legally, get money to support their families and our economy gets a boost. I've done microbiology projects in a number of meat plants and I can tell you honestly that it is amazing, even in eastern Washington, there is a 95% hispanic population doing a horde of very humbling jobs.

I am hoping to go to Germany in the next couple of years and I can't wait. I'm trying to learn the language as best I can (even though I know that the majority of Germans will probably, to my disappointment, speak english to me) because I want to experience as much of the country as I can when I go there. That is my priority. When I think of Mexican immigrants, while I would like them to learn English, and I do think they have some obligation to at least the basics of it, because it will make my life easier in dealing with them (face it, that's the main reason any of us care), I don't think that this should be that big a problem. When my family settled in New Ulm Minnesota from Germany in the 1800s they no doubt took a couple generations to learn English.

There is a concern of losing jobs to these immigrants which is partly silly and partly very serious. It is partly silly because so many of our big corporations outsource. Half of our country is giving jobs away out of country and the other half is complaining because people from out of the country are coming here for jobs. The serious part, as I see it, is not the parents that move here and take those jobs that none of those lazy Americans will do, but the children of those parents who will go to college thanks to their parent's vast sacrifices and hard work. But this is no longer a problem because these children are US citizens. There is a serious concern there though because of the availability of jobs. At some point there is a problem with people getting out of college and finding jobs...but this no longer has anything to do with immigration beyond the influx of population which we mostly all agree is fine, so long as it is done legally. I only bring up that last part because I see no other stable grounds for arguing about losing jobs when we are outsourcing so much.

Well, I'll leave it there, I've already said way too much...and not enough. Thanks for your posts, keep it up!