Peter Brimelow is always as good as he is wordy. And always significant. Today he invokes Solzhenitsyn's discussion of the freedom that comes from having nothing else to lose. And he invokes Solzhenitsyn's challenge against the idea of global uniformity, in favor of the idea that nations (including America) must remain separate and individual identities. I experienced something of this sense of hopeless liberation as I found myself politically squeezed in graduate school, and it does lead to intransigence. For those of you new to the debate, toward the end he gives some great information on internal conservative politics and how it affected us "nativists".
http://www.vdare.com/pb/060605_gulag.htm
For all those who replied to my border control articles at Small Town Veteran with some variety of "Its not practical, it'll never happen", I'd like to offer Brimelow's closing:
Note that I am deliberately sketching out this wish list while totally ignoring the secondary question of whether or not it is “politically possible.” These steps to redeem America are what Bill Bennett’s Department of Education staffers used to call, ruefully, “Full Moon Proposals” (as in throwing your head back and baying at). They assume an ideal world, except possibly for illegal aliens and immigration lawyers.
I ignore the question of what’s politically possible for two reasons.
Firstly, it actually helps to know where the moon is. You can navigate by it. In other words, by looking at the ideal, we throw into sharp relief the deep, systematic problems of the real world and avoid the minutiae that is typical of so much policy discourse.
We could systematically strip citizenship from those who obtained it fraudulently. Isn’t that nice to know?
Secondly, the plain fact is that no one really has the faintest idea what is politically possible. Least of all the professional politicians. They appear to have been designed by evolution to snuffle along like blind shrews, following their exquisitely sensitive snouts for one day to the next, reacting savagely if asked about next week—let alone year—and thus able to perform 180-degree turns without rupturing their consciences.
Or even noticing. On innumerable issues — wage and price controls, welfare policy, the efficacy of military intervention overseas—the American conventional wisdom had changed out of all recognition over relatively short periods of time, without the conventionally-wise seeming to feel much need to reproach themselves for being wrong.
It can happen in immigration policy too.
Or, to put it another way: the Soviet Union—completely unexpectedly—collapsed. The gulag was dissolved. Alexander Solzhenitsyn returned from exile.
The nightmare will end. America will be freed from its immigration gulag.
- George
Needs, Wants and wishes or even requests by the President.
Funny you should talk about this at the time I am reading the writings of U.S. Grant. Besides reading his writings of his life, I have collected a few things he said in his "State of the Union" speeches.
There is more here, in his speeches, than just talk about Mexico, immigration, fraud and such. But reading between the lines, dissatisfaction from Grant with all things political.
He was a Soldier- not and never anything else. If he could have been King for a few years (without a congress), things would be very different today. He believed that: Politics do not equal or ensure fair policies, but usually the reverse.
Here are his words, not complete, just snippets of them, because some are long and detailed. But they are available at www.gutenberg.org if you want to read all eight years of them. You might just be surprised at what you will learn from them. They are replete with facts, figures and surprises.
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And a Soldiers Wisdom.
1872
"It is much to be regretted that many lawless acts continue to disturb the quiet of the settlements on the border between our territory and that of Mexico, and that complaints of wrongs to American citizens in various parts of the country are made. The revolutionary condition in which the neighboring Republic has so long been involved has in some degree contributed to this disturbance. It is to be hoped that with a more settled rule of order through the Republic, which may be expected from the present Government, the acts of which just complaint is made will cease.
1875
In this connection I earnestly call the attention of Congress to the difficulties arising from fraudulent naturalization. The United States wisely, freely, and liberally offers its citizenship to all who may come in good faith to reside within its limits on their complying with certain prescribed reasonable and simple formalities and conditions. Among the highest duties of the Government is that to afford firm, sufficient, and equal protection to all its citizens, whether native born or naturalized. Care should be taken that a right carrying with it such support from the Government should not be fraudulently obtained, and should be bestowed only upon full proof of a compliance with the law; and yet frequent instances are brought to the attention of the Government of illegal and fraudulent naturalization and of the unauthorized use of certificates thus improperly obtained. In some cases the fraudulent character of the naturalization has appeared upon the face of the certificate itself; in others examination discloses that the holder had not complied with the law, and in others certificates have been obtained where the persons holding them not only were not entitled to be naturalized, but had not even been within the United States at the time of the pretended naturalization. Instances of each of these classes of fraud are discovered at our legations, where the certificates of naturalization are presented either for the purpose of obtaining passports or in demanding the protection of the legation. When the fraud is apparent on the face of such certificates, they are taken up by the representatives of the Government and forwarded to the Department of State. But even then the record of the court in which the fraudulent naturalization occurred remains, and duplicate certificates are readily obtainable. Upon the presentation of these for the issue of passports or in demanding protection of the Government, the fraud sometimes escapes notice, and such certificates are not infrequently used in transactions of business to the deception and injury of innocent parties. Without placing any additional obstacles in the way of the obtainment of citizenship by the worthy and well-intentioned foreigner who comes in good faith to cast his lot with ours, I earnestly recommend further legislation to punish fraudulent naturalization and to secure the ready cancellation of the record of every naturalization made in fraud.
The free zone, so called, several years since established by the Mexican Government in certain of the States of that Republic adjacent to our frontier, remains in full operation. It has always been materially injurious to honest traffic, for it operates as an incentive to traders in Mexico to supply without customs charges the wants of inhabitants on this side of the line, and prevents the same wants from being supplied by merchants of the United States, thereby to a considerable extent defrauding our revenue and checking honest commercial enterprise. Depredations by armed bands from Mexico on the people of Texas near the frontier continue. Though the main object of these incursions is robbery, they frequently result in the murder of unarmed and peaceably disposed persons, and in some instances even the United States post-offices and mail communications have been attacked. Renewed remonstrances upon this subject have been addressed to the Mexican Government, but without much apparent effect. The military force of this Government disposable for service in that quarter is quite inadequate to effectually guard the line, even at those points where the incursions are usually made. An experiment of an armed vessel on the Rio Grande for that purpose is on trial, and it is hoped that, if not thwarted by the shallowness of the river and other natural obstacles, it may materially contribute to the protection of the herdsmen of Texas. The proceedings of the joint commission under the convention between the United States and Mexico of the 4th of July, 1868, on the subject of claims, will soon be brought to a close. The result of those proceedings will then be communicated to Congress.
1875
The United States, with great liberality, offers its citizenship to all who in good faith comply with the requirements of law. These requirements are as simple and upon as favorable terms to the emigrant as the high privilege to which he is admitted can or should permit. I do not propose any additional requirements to those which the law now demands; but the very simplicity and the want of unnecessary formality in our law have made fraudulent naturalization not infrequent, to the discredit and injury of all honest citizens, whether native or naturalized. Cases of this character are continually being brought to the notice of the Government by our representatives abroad, and also those of persons resident in other countries, most frequently those who, if they have remained in this country long enough to entitle them to become naturalized, have generally not much overpassed that period, and have returned to the country of their origin, where they reside, avoiding all duties to the United States by their absence, and claiming to be exempt from all duties to the country of their nativity and of their residence by reason of their alleged naturalization. It is due to this Government itself and to the great mass of the naturalized citizens who entirely, both in name and in fact, become citizens of the United States that the high privilege of citizenship of the United States should not be held by fraud or in derogation of the laws and of the good name of every honest citizen. On many occasions it has been brought to the knowledge of the Government that certificates of naturalization are held and protection or interference claimed by parties who admit that not only they were not within the United States at the time of the pretended naturalization, but that they have never resided in the United States; in others the certificate and record of the court show on their face that the person claiming to be naturalized had not resided the required time in the United States; in others it is admitted upon examination that the requirements of law have not been complied with; in some cases, even, such certificates have been matter of purchase. These are not isolated cases, arising at rare intervals, but of common occurrence, and which are reported from all quarters of the globe. Such occurrences can not, and do not, fail to reflect upon the Government and injure all honest citizens. Such a fraud being discovered, however, there is no practicable means within the control of the Government by which the record of naturalization can be vacated; and should the certificate be taken up, as it usually is, by the diplomatic and consular representatives of the Government to whom it may have been presented, there is nothing to prevent the person claiming to have been naturalized from obtaining a new certificate from the court in place of that which has been taken from him. The evil has become so great and of such frequent occurrence that I can not too earnestly recommend that some effective measures be adopted to provide a proper remedy and means for the vacating of any record thus fraudulently made, and of punishing the guilty parties to the transaction.
1876
First. That the States shall be required to afford the opportunity of a good common-school education to every child within their limits. Second. No sectarian tenets shall ever be taught in any school supported in whole or in part by the State, nation, or by the proceeds of any tax levied upon any community. Make education compulsory so far as to deprive all persons who can not read and write from becoming voters after the year 1890, disfranchising none, however, on grounds of illiteracy who may be voters at the time this amendment takes effect.
The numbers of persons of foreign birth seeking a home in the United States, the ease and facility with which the honest emigrant may, after the lapse of a reasonable time, become possessed of all the privileges of citizenship of the United States, and the frequent occasions which induce such adopted citizens to return to the country of their birth render the subject of naturalization and the safeguards which experience has proved necessary for the protection of the honest naturalized citizen of paramount importance. The very simplicity in the requirements of law on this question affords opportunity for fraud, and the want of uniformity in the proceedings and records of the various courts and in the forms of the certificates of naturalization issued affords a constant source of difficulty. I suggest no additional requirements to the acquisition of citizenship beyond those now existing, but I invite the earnest attention of Congress to the necessity and wisdom of some provisions regarding uniformity in the records and certificates, and providing against the frauds which frequently take place and for the vacating of a record of naturalization obtained in fraud."
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What has been evidently "politically possible" for over a hundred years of this Republic has resulted in the immigration disaster we have today. We have millions of illegals and untold (to us at least) numbers of immigrants that have tried to do it the legal way, supplied the legal documents, jumped through all the impossible hoops, waited for months, years...and still can not become American Citizens.
Have we become a nation that has its priorities and its values backwards? Can not the right things be done anymore. Can we not contain/punish the selfish, ignorant Politicians? Or do away with them?
Can we not let people who are trying to follow the law in, and keep those that break the law out?
Our Republic is in peril, in dire immediate danger from many fronts. Are we to wait until there is no recourse but rebellion and war?
For our children and grandchildren I pray we don't.
Papa Ray
