FENCES
“Good fences make good neighbors”Robert Frost
Throughout history fences had been successfully used to indicate the limits of one’s control. Without a distinct marker of some sort, a range of uncertainty exists as to what a person or a country can do at the edges of their controlled property. This uncertainty usually leads to disputes which can lead to violence. In the past if the border dispute was between countries it led to war.
Fences and borders are so specific in their placement that in most areas of the
In short, boundaries are important and fences are visual indicators of those boundaries.
We put up fences to indicate to the deer that they cannot eat from our apple trees and we make the fences sturdy enough to prevent the deer from crossing that boundary. The converse is true to keep our cow or horse or dog from running loose on our neighbor’s property.
Fences are necessary to keep things in…and to keep things out.
Isn’t that interesting?
Consider some past walls:
Hadrian’s Wall was about 80 miles long and was built in 122ad by the Romans across
It was replaced by another, built for the same purpose, the Antonine Wall, about half the length at the border of present day
The Great Wall of China, approximately 4000 miles long and said to have been guarded by over a million troops, was built to keep out the Mongols who were raiding China from the north.
The Maginot Line, built in the 1930’s along the French-German border, was less of a wall than a series of forts and obstacles and proved rather useless in a modern war which employs planes and tanks.
The Berlin Wall was started in 1961 to keep westerners and their influence out of 
Germany
It is sort of the inverse of what is happening between the
The
What is the reason that people cross borders?
Probably for the same reason that squirrels cross roads. People emigrate because of discontent, or hunger or to avoid being persecuted (or prosecuted). When people are hungry, poor or live in fear where they are, they move on. This can be simply moving to another patch of woods in a primitive society if it is available or leaving your homeland entirely as happens today. There have been small migrations since the beginning of time as it applied to birds, animals or humans.
The colonization of the western hemisphere saw larger mass migrations by people hoping to significantly improve their lives. These migrations are always prompted by stories returning of the potential for wealth or for freedom of choice of cultural standards or religious beliefs.
Today our southern border is porous. The influx of new people is creating incredible economic stress in our Southwest. People are coming across in hopes of a better life and people are coming across to expand their crime and drug networks. How does one sort out intentions?
The only way is to close the border and attempt to sort out intentions by legalized entry. It’s easier to keep the bear out of the kitchen before he gets in than to get him out after.
Unfortunately we didn’t close the door quickly enough and the bear is in the kitchen and hungry. Now we have to feed him.
Again, fences are necessary to keep things in…and to keep things out.
John:
It would appear that recent events in Arizona have made the subject of “fences” irrelevant should the trend continue. The new Arizona law that will suspend business licenses for employers for ten days on the first offense and license cancellation on the second offense for hiring illegal aliens appears to be not only successful, but has been refused hearings by a federal judge in Phoenix and the ninth circuit court of appeals in San Francisco.
It would appear, at least for now, that the erection of a full border fence between Mexico and the U.S. would be unnecessary if all states would pass the identical law. Once the process starts it is bound to accelerate solely because the states that do no have such laws will attract the illegals from the states that do.
Although not in force till January 1st the law, at least from news reports, is already having an effect on employers in that they are terminating existing illegal employees and reports of illegals that have returned to Mexico for the Christmas holidays have stated they are not going to be returning to the U.S. because of the new law.
Rather than single out Mexico, the law covers all illegals. This has to be a win/win situation. No longer will special interest groups be able to say that the U.S. is discriminating by race against anyone, and the constant flood of illegals across our borders and ports will cease. The only expenditure required is to pass the same law that Arizona has led the way with.
Granted, the businesses the currently employ illegals will fight like hell but they also fought for the passage of the immigration bill through congress, and that didn’t come to fruition.
The best thing anyone can do is now start writing to your state senator, representative and governor for the passage of the same Arizona bill. It’s already stood up to the federal courts so why reinvent the wheel.
In this way, all nationalities can enter this country legally, with equal rights, and become one with the American populace and the usage of “cheap” labor will cease and all Americans can get a decent wage.
That’s a good point. Perhaps those illegal border crossers will return home if they find that there are no legitimate opportunities for them in the US.
Law enforcement will have to get tougher on those illegals who do remain without employment as their option will be to support themselves in criminal ways.