I finally get it about building a wall
While the hubbub continues about separating Hispanic and Latina children from their parents continues, I seemed to have had an epiphany about why border walls are and have been so important.
Up until recently, I’ve been very set against building a wall along the border between the United States and Mexico. But my grandson, who is a quarter Mexican on his father’s side, helped me understand the process. (My grandson was born in Quincy so DACA doesn’t apply to him; besides both of his parents are legal citizens).
One night, we were reading this cute little picture book that really has no words. It’s about a bored little girl whose magic chalk releases her into an incredible journey that begins with a strange castle and ends with her gaining a friend who also has magic chalk.
It was the castle that stirred my thinking about the proposed wall. As a history buff, especially European history, I’ve loved learning and exploring castles.
Many had walls to help defend the castle and its occupants. They were built to keep the bad people or enemies out.
The Great Wall of China is an example of keeping enemies from invading certain people. The Berlin Wall is another example although the former Soviet Union wanted to keep their people in just as much as they wanted to keep others out.
OK, so I started rethinking things. I don’t like the looks of any of the proposed wall prototypes that I’ve seen. I prefer rock walls like the ones used around castles or the Great Wall that still zigzags its way through part of China.
I propose a stone wall with ramparts and turrets where guards are stationed. They’ll probably need to be higher than those of old — technology of course has changed.
We need to keep people from coming across that border at Mexico. It doesn’t matter who they are as long as they’re coming from Mexico and all the countries throughout Central and South America.
Never mind the fact that I have always believed we’re a country built on the premise of taking in others. My ancestors came from Europe — primarily the British Isles — but then I’m sure they joined all of the peaceful, law abiding citizens coming from there.
Of course we need to demolish the Statue of Liberty or cover it up until another era when it’s OK to immigrate once again.
If we have a wall along one border, we can’t have the Statue of Liberty at the port of one of our major cities welcoming one and all.
We just can’t have those famous words at its base. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
With a wall those words would indeed be confusing — misrepresentation even.
When you think about European castles, many of them had moats. These were typically filled with water. That helped keep out the enemy because most couldn’t swim and armor was heavy causing knights and warriors, even their armor-clad horses, to sink.
But water is in short supply in those arid states along the border. Maybe Mexico would have to pay for the water to fill a moat that could be placed on its side before reaching the wall. If not then we would have to have a moat on our side. Once again that’s an incredible expense, but we have to do what we have to do to keep our law-abiding citizens safe.
With that problem somewhat solved, I got to thinking about Canada. Who has the higher crime rate? I Googled it and learned that in 2017 Manitoba had a higher crime rate especially in violent crimes. We can’t have them coming into the United States, can we?
I was startled by some of the facts I read. I thought Canadians spent all their time thinking about ice hockey and keeping warm. I already knew that Canada doesn’t want us unless we have enough money to pay for our medical and other services — so in short they don’t want us either. And we don’t want them, especially Manitobans or whatever they’re called.
So the answer is to build another wall. Water to fill the extensive moat wouldn’t be the problem it is in the south, but on which side of the wall should we put it?
It’s an insult to think that we should put it on our side. We’re all law abiding and wouldn’t dream of trying to sneak into Canada’s provinces. But if we insist on putting the moat on their side, it’s almost impossible to defend. That border along Canada and the U.S. is cold for many months each year. The moat would freeze and those Canadians would just skate, snowmobile or even bobsled across it, scale the wall when our guards weren’t looking and there you have it, they’re home free.
I admit to some problem solving that needs to be done on that wall.
Thinking about our own state, the wall with Mexico aside, we’ve already voted on the state of Jefferson. We could go ahead with it. I’m sure those people who want to live there would be in favor of keeping the rest of us out. After all, we would want services we’re accustomed to in the rest of the state; and I’m sure they wouldn’t want riffraff coming in. Somehow, they’re going to afford everything so the addition of a wall to protect their way of thinking and living could be done.
But then again there’s a new proposal to split California into three states. I believe walls for each state are important. It would be very, very difficult to tell if we were the right Californians or not. After all we all look alike — like we’re from California. The fake ID business will go crazy. We’ll probably need passports, tattooed numbers, chip implants.
Oh, but wait, Oregon used to hold promise and so many people moved there that Oregon’s officials didn’t want anymore people, especially Californians moving there. They will need a wall.
I know from personal experience that the residents of Idaho don’t like Californians. My extensive family that lives there puts up with me — well, because I’m family — but I have noted a suspicious glance or two and the topic of the environment is forbidden along with home prices. They’re also very quiet when they tell friends and others they have to introduce me to where I hail from. Once or twice I’ve been introduced as the sister or aunt from South Dakota. I haven’t lived there since 1980, but I am a native of that state.
Thinking about my native state leads to another consideration. People from North Dakota and South Dakota bash one another. But then there are so few South Dakotans it really doesn’t matter.
I’m sure that my knowledge is very limited when it comes to likes and dislikes of people in states throughout our great nation. I’m sure in time we will have walls and moats along most borders if not all of them. After all, we have to do the right thing at any cost.
