|
Tuesday, May 16, 2006On the speech:I'm ho-hum to so-so on large sections of it. But the ending section on assimilation got me, or at least these two parts: I believe that illegal immigrants who have roots in our country and want to stay should have to pay a meaningful penalty for breaking the law … to pay their taxes … to learn English … and to work in a job for a number of years. [my italics]Whatever his other problems - and they aren't few in number on this issue, Bush gets issue numero uno (deliberate word choice): Coming to this country requires becoming an American and taking the necessary steps to integrate into our culture, not marching with Mexican flags and demanding that we create a "Little Mexico" for you to live in. Bush's focus on English, especially for a guy who campaigned in Spanish, suggests that they understand the really critical issue for our security: Making people who come here come into our system so that rival cultures aren't allowed to coexist and challenge our larger culture of freedom and opportunity. If the French had required their Muslim immigrants to learn French, go to school and wade through the dreary bureaucracy that is French life, Muslim teens would be tipping over cars over the changed job rules, not the burka issue. Progress after a fashion. And if we force our immigrants to learn English, likewise, they will have a better chance of participating in the best of the American experience while we are spared from having Tijuana slums on our side of the border. In other words, while I'm really iffy on immigration reform - I think it needs to be strict, but I wouldn't trust the INS and its descendants to pick up my drycleaning, never mind determine how real human beings' lives will unfold. But on the culture note, I heard the right stuff, which gives me a little hope that they'll screw it up less than they otherwise might. 
posted by gbarto at 12:48 PM |
Archives
|
Day By Day© by Chris Muir.Old TurkeyBlog here.
