Cable and network news have failed us. We no longer get facts, we get partisan opinions that rarely tell the whole story. Folks get caught up in headlines, talking points and sound bites played over and over and over again for ratings. And then you sit at home literally enraged by what you think you know. You go on social media and have an argument with a stranger based on topics neither one of you have had the time to truly study and digest. And then we all take sides. We have become misinformed, partisan, angry tribes of American people filled with half the story.
It wasn't always this way. I can remember a time when television went off. Yes...shocking as it may seem, there was a time when there was literally nothing on television after midnight. The Star Spangled Banner would play and until around 6am the next day, all you got was white noise.
Many things changed that. New networks were formed. Sports became an entertainment and advertising juggernaut and cable television introduced us to the 24-hour news cycle. News went from a source of information to a place for ratings and entertainment. Journalists, went from objective dispensers of the news to pundits with opinions based on partisan agendas. Politicians, went from being representatives of the people, to being slaves to lobbyists and big business.
In this kind of atmosphere how can the American people get the truth about the wall? A truth that isn't as clean as a bigot with an outrageous idea that most folks don't like. Although thats the headline, it is not the complete truth. The truth is always found some where in the middle. It isn't as sexy as fear laden headlines about caravans coming to take all we have...or as self righteous as declaring an inanimate object like a "wall" immoral.
The fact is, that some places along our border a wall is needed. No, a wall will not solve all illegal immigration issues but it will help in certain areas. Our border is in crisis but like all things it must be addressed with intelligent solutions. So...let's unpack this issue and see if we can't separate fact from fiction.
Trump is correct, a large percentage of drugs coming into this country are coming here via the Mexican border. Trump is incorrect, it’s NOT the wall, it’s the trucks going through the check points. Trump is correct, NAFTA sucks. NAFTA damaged Mexico's economy, we gotta own that and make amends. That said, Trump's USMCA deal is not that much better than NAFTA outside of the benefit to dairy farmers and the American Auto Industry. Which still leaves us with a huge drug problem and an illegal immigration problem.
Ask yourself this: Why would a person of Mexican descent want to remain in Mexico if a trade deal the US made puts their lives and the lives of their children in danger? Have we gotten so partisan we no longer look at the facts or ask the right questions?
Democrats act as if “the wall” is a moral outrage, as if we don’t already have several miles of wall on the border that Democrats approved when Obama was in office. Dems need to stop acting like virgins at a strip club, the faux outrage is boring. We've been making it rain! If Democrats are truly upset by the idea of a border wall, why did the democratic congress not oppose the 2,000 miles of wall when Obama was in office?
What democrats are upset about is Trump's racist rhetoric and bullying. Democrats don’t really give a damn about a wall other than it being used as a symbol of division. Meanwhile federal workers hang in the balance while congress and the president play a game of chicken with peoples lives and livelihoods.
I'm gonna give you this for free...republicans in congress do not really want the wall. If they wanted the wall they would have passed a bill funding it when they were the majority in the house and the senate. This, is also free, the wall won’t really effect our economy. Congress knows that. What we really need is more judges to handle the true problem at the border which is asylum cases, congress knows that too and could easily fix it.
Making a deal for a minimal wall or barrier or whatever you wan't to call it could also allow us to create a path for DREAMERS, get the new judges we need as well as add common sense protections to the border like drones or technology that will allow us to stop illegal drug flow at the check points.
A REAL COMPROMISE COULD SET US ALL FREE.
But until we set aside ego and focus on smart solutions from both sides, the best of America will never be achieved. That is the truth.
Most instances of illegal immigration are folks over staying their visa's but it's a lie to pretend that a wall will not be a deterrent and that it will not curb some instances of illegal immigration.
What should ALSO be included in this budget is money for a task force to deal with the folk who are here on an expired visas. As well as funding to significantly increase the amount of judges residing over asylum cases because there is a back-log like you wouldn't believe. We also need funding to create a better alternative to catch and release because that program is flawed and only invites people to break our laws and take advantage of a system we have in place for American citizens.
We can increase barriers as well as enact smart legislation to fund other things that would significantly solve the crisis at our borders.
Lets hope congress and this president decide to truly put the American people as well as our country first and stop the bull-crap once and for all.