Immigration, migration, racism, and the American Dream
The American Dream is something Americans have been proud of since the term came into fashion during the Industrial Revolution.
For me it is the concept that claims that anyone who has a dream can make it come true in the United States with a lot hard work and a good idea. It is also the middle class concept of everyone can own a house with 2 cars in the driveway making regular people the Kings and Queens of their own little Kingdom. A good education, which meant learning the basic skills of an educated people, learning a trade with skills that will last a lifetime, and ultimately going to a university to study medicine, law, finance, and the sciences.
These are the things that America dreamed to become.
So when you sit back and compare the United States in 1900 to the United States in 2000 you see an amazing accomplishment of those dreams. You see a nation that went from being a young nation still trying to solve its own problems on its side of the world, to a nation that is a world power with influence over literally every person on the face of the earth. Regardless of your opinion about where the USA now stands, the fact remains that everyone looks to America and compares itself to it.
America also the target of extreme hate and seen as an abomination by many cultures around the world for our vast wealth, and our vast military while still being a country divided along the lines of race coupled with the problems of poverty versus the mega-wealthy.
Now in 2019 we are faced with the issues of a large immigration coming from the southern border. Thousands of desperate people fleeing poverty and violence to find some sort of peace and the possibility to survive without having to worry about being shot or bullied in the streets.
Immigrants come to America for the same reason they have always come to America. They want to be able to live in freedom and safety in an organized civilization where chaos and corruption don't exist. This is the reason people immigrate all over the world.
So this massive migration to the USA is really the proof that the American Dream is still deeply seated in the minds and hearts of people the world over. People want to live in peace and be prosperous. I don't believe people have any desire to freeload.
Here is the problem in reality.
Moving to a new country means not knowing how the system works.
When I moved to Germany in 1988 I arrived on a tourist visa. I had a signed contract in a Theater to sing in the Musiktheater department of a German theater. Even though I had others there who had already been through the process, and helped me to figure out what to do to get registered in a new country, I still had to do it and figure it out myself.
Think about what it means to move to a different country. That country must be able to put you into the system. That means giving you a visa to give you official permission to reside inside of the country, which is connected to a work permit which specifies what kind of work you can do and makes it possible for companies to hire you under the laws of the land, they have to start a tax file on you so you can contribute your fair share to the revenue of the government that organizes all of these things. You also have to figure out health insurance, an area that the United States is terrible at, and also finding a place to live, getting transportation, a car and the cost of insurance and gas on top of that.
The single most difficult thing about moving to a new country is the likelihood that you will be moving to a place where you don't know the language.
Consider all of the things above and you can't read anything you see in the new country or speak to people either.
These things are not new to immigrants to the United States, everyone except English native speakers have had to deal with these issues ever since immigration began. I know how confusing it can be because I was too an immigrant to Germany, and I was fortunate because I already had a job when I went there.
So, really you have the following issues when it comes to immigration from the southern border...
- Most are just fleeing their own country to get away from chaos and haven't thought about what it will take to get into a new society like the USA.
- Most don't have many skills or much education with which to add to the society in which they are rushing to enter.
- Most don't speak the new language, much less read and write in it.
- Most don't have a job to go to, nor a clue about how to get one.
- Most have no money.
- Most don't know anyone in the new country.
- Most don't know where to go to register and become legal. So they just wing it.
So there are a lot of issues immigrants from the south face that they have basically no clue about. They are just thinking, "I'll figure it out when I get there. Anything is better than where I am right now. At least I won't be shot in the streets and my children will be safe."
An international problem
The problem is an international one and it stems from the fact that 1st world countries are no longer concerned with human rights in 3rd world countries. The reason immigrants from the 3rd world are fleeing to the 1st world is because the country they are from is completely corrupt and dangerous. Their countries are ruled by cruel and greedy leaders, outlaws to their own people and the 1st world has basically stopped trying to force influence on them.
If 1st world countries want to stop the massive immigration occurring today it must go into these countries and force them to become civilized. There will be immigration as long as these countries are dysfunctional. Yes, it probably will mean a military invasion, a United Nations occupation for many years to establish order, domestic tranquility and build the educational system and leaders who can lead in a moral and caring way. Plus, the world wide illegal drug and trafficking industries must be destroyed once and for all.
Unless the 1st world countries unite and help solve the problems causing immigration, they will be forever cursed by it.
The problems that result from these immigration problems is a citizenry that becomes less tolerant and less willing to accept immigrants into their own country. Unless the poor, and needy are given a proper way to become self reliant you are going to see a rise in racism, prejudice and nationalism on a scale that rivals the atrocities of World War II. Hate can infect every society and when it infects a 1st world country, with all of the power and military strength they can muster, it becomes a dire situation for all. Then nobody is safe, and you can barely breath anymore.
The New American Dream
The New American Dream has to be exported to these 3rd world countries. Not that they have to accept our religion, our language or our ways, but they really must become a home that is secure, prosperous and desirable to live in. Really, I believe the only way to change the ways of those countries is to occupy them for a while, set the people on a course of self-determination and teach them how to build a successful society. Until that happens, all of the problems that I have listed in this article will continue to worsen.