As you know, dear readers, I am loathe to agree with President Bush on anything; but I'm afraid that I must when it comes to our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.
Perhaps it is a sign that, at forty years of age, I am in fact an old curmudgeon. Perhaps my view denotes a bit of xenophobia on my part, but I cannot lie, I do not think there should be a Spanish language version of the Anthem.
As far as the whole immigration issue goes, I think our borders need to be strengthened and illegals kept out. I believe it is a national security issue. I sympathize with those immigrants, both legal and illegal, who say that they are not terrorists. But if we cannot secure our borders against illegal immigrants, no matter how benign their reasons for entering this country, how can we expect that our borders are safe against those who really do mean to do us harm?
Illegals and Taxes
Illegal immigrants argue that they are in fact paying taxes. But those are just local sales taxes that all people pay when they purchase goods and services. Those taxes are used for local issues such as roads and schools. The larger issue is income taxes, which illegals do not pay. These are the tax monies that are used for Medicare, and that the federal government pays out for roads and schools. So, to the degree that illegals are not paying income taxes, is the degree to which their health care and the education of their children is being provided to them at the expense of persons in this country legally who have social security numbers.
I realize that our nation is a nation of immigrants. We would not be the nation we are today were it not for the mixing of all the cultures that sacrificed so much to come here, from the humble beginnings of our country in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, to the perils of Ellis Island in the early twentieth century. But that was then, and this is now. We should remain a country with open arms to the "tired, the poor," and the "huddled masses," but I don't see a problem with expecting that those persons would come here legally. That way they will benefit fully from this great experiment we call the United States of America, and they will fully contribute as well.
Perhaps it is a sign that, at forty years of age, I am in fact an old curmudgeon. Perhaps my view denotes a bit of xenophobia on my part, but I cannot lie, I do not think there should be a Spanish language version of the Anthem.
As far as the whole immigration issue goes, I think our borders need to be strengthened and illegals kept out. I believe it is a national security issue. I sympathize with those immigrants, both legal and illegal, who say that they are not terrorists. But if we cannot secure our borders against illegal immigrants, no matter how benign their reasons for entering this country, how can we expect that our borders are safe against those who really do mean to do us harm?
Illegals and Taxes
Illegal immigrants argue that they are in fact paying taxes. But those are just local sales taxes that all people pay when they purchase goods and services. Those taxes are used for local issues such as roads and schools. The larger issue is income taxes, which illegals do not pay. These are the tax monies that are used for Medicare, and that the federal government pays out for roads and schools. So, to the degree that illegals are not paying income taxes, is the degree to which their health care and the education of their children is being provided to them at the expense of persons in this country legally who have social security numbers.
I realize that our nation is a nation of immigrants. We would not be the nation we are today were it not for the mixing of all the cultures that sacrificed so much to come here, from the humble beginnings of our country in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, to the perils of Ellis Island in the early twentieth century. But that was then, and this is now. We should remain a country with open arms to the "tired, the poor," and the "huddled masses," but I don't see a problem with expecting that those persons would come here legally. That way they will benefit fully from this great experiment we call the United States of America, and they will fully contribute as well.
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