As I have previously reported, on the 15th of November, I traveled to San Diego, California to participate in an MSNBC Special Town Hall Event, on immigration.
Clearly I represented a viewpoint that was not shared by the other participants on the various panels. However, I believe that I managed to raise many of the points I had intended to bring up in order to increase public awareness of the impact of our nation’s failures to address the failings of the immigration system and border security, by taking part in this two hour program.
Here is a link to the segments of the broadcast, in case you missed seeing it:
http://www.votolatino.org/msnbc-special/
I appeared in three segments of the program and this is the link to the first segment in which I appeared. While there are so many aspects to the immigration crisis that confronts our nation- impacting virtually every challenge our nation is currently grappling with, I hope you will agree that my brief remarks hit a number of these issues:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/40206412#40206412
I understood, going into the event, that I would probably be providing a unique perspective in terms of where most of the other participants would stand, but I also think you will agree with me that people need to have the courage of their beliefs and come forward to take a position they truly believe in, especially when the stakes are as high as they are. In my judgment, where immigration is concerned, the stakes could not possibly be greater!
Therefore I was happy that I was afforded this opportunity to be heard.
My dad used to tell me as a young man, “You can always tell who a real man is- he is the guy who stands for something!”
I stand, without equivocation or apology, for secure borders and an immigration system that has real integrity and not only protects our nation and our citizens but honors the countless millions of legal immigrants from the four corners of our planet who helped build this great nation since its founding more than two centuries ago!
If our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the “American Dream” the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously!
We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm’s way in defense of this nation and our citizens.
My goal in writing this and other commentaries is to point out our nation’s many failings *before* more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government.
The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them.
Any politician who refuses to work to secure our borders and create an immigration system that has real integrity is either corrupt or too dumb to keep his (her) job. Any politician, irrespective of party affiliation who favors Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the outrageous betrayal that this would represent given the national security implications that this program would have, should be shown the door at the next election!
If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same. We need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”
The practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there.
The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that *We the People* absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines!
The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to far too many politicians. I implore you to get involved!
If this situation concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation!
All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!
We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.
Border security and the creation of an immigration system that possesses real integrity are neither a “Conservative” issues, nor “Liberal” issues- simply stated, these are most certainly AMERICAN issues!
You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!
Democracy is not a spectator sport!
Lead, follow or get out of the way!
