Swimming The Rio Grande

Tevye: Where are you going?
Lazar Wolf: Chicago. In America.
Tevye: Chicago, America? We are going to New York, America. We’ll be neighbors.

Dear Respected Habitué, Beloved Cronies, little trolls, Regarded Rivals, Clever Clansmen and Super-Duper Supporters, and Everyone Else,

I hope this blog post reaches you in the best of health, that it is meet for your mettle and finds you in fine fettle.

Our English language is a strange and wonderful thing, sometimes, and must be next to impossible for non-English speakers to learn.  But they should learn it.  Assimilation has always been the key.  My ancestors learned to speak English when they got here.  They wanted to fit in.  They wanted to be Americans.

That didn’t stop my grandma from making potato pancakes or German Potato Salad, though.  Same with the Irish side.  Even though the Irish were despised and treated worse than the black slaves in some cases, partly because of their thick brogue and partly because many of them were, in fact, drunken brawlers, they assimilated.  In the case of my ancestors, they went to Wisconsin to be dairy farmers and bring their cheese recipes from the old country.  Wisconsin became a melting pot for German, Polish and Irish immigrants and some Swedes and Dutch who knew cows and butter and especially cheese.   In the area I come from there was also a strong French influence as well and the French know cheese, too.

We are a country of immigrants, which my Native American friends remind me of from time to time.  But what my specific ancestors did, they did legally, becoming citizens, desiring to be Americans first and foremost.  They did not want to be hyphenated-Americans, just Americans.  That didn’t stop my grandpa from making sauerkraut, but he could talk to his Bavarian friend and learn about putting caraway seed in it.  Or compare sausage recipes.

Now, with all of that being said, the reporting done by the mainstream, lamestream media, bolstered by the Hollyweird Leftists, is always referring to anyone who wants something to be done about illegal immigration as being a hater.  The fact is that in their reporting and preaching to us they have conveniently dropped the word “illegal” from their headlines and made enforcement of the law a crime instead.  When I was stationed in El Paso in 1980 we could go to the Rio Grande river and watch people, whole families with all of their belongings, swim and wade across the river to the American side.  This had been going on for a very long time and it was an interesting thing to behold.  It is the origin of the derogatory slur, “wetback.”  It is also against our laws and if you want to live in a country, then you should want to learn their laws.  That only makes sense to me.  And how hard is it?

Be a Green Card Holder for 5 years, live in the country a minimum of 30 months out of that 5 years and, according to The Citizenship and Immigration services website, uscis.gov,

Reside continuously within the United States from the date of application for naturalization up to the time of naturalization.
Be able to read, write, and speak English and have knowledge and an understanding of U.S. history and government (civics).
Be a person of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States during all relevant periods under the law.

There is a lot of good information on their website, but the point I am trying to make is that we are not trying to keep people out and we don’t hate people, we just want law-abiding citizens.  If I were to go to another country to be a citizen, the requirements are similar or more stringent.  I just searched a couple, Mexico and New Zealand but Mexico didn’t have a website like ours.  New Zealand did, though.  On the Irish website is a note saying, “Important: There is no guarantee your application will be successful even if you meet all conditions required by law. Applications are decided by the Minister for Justice and Equality who has total discretion when granting citizenship.”

So anyway, if I wanted to emigrate to another country, I would have to learn their laws and language and if I were caught trying to sneak in?  This article on a website called Human Events shows the penalties in other countries.  Another article from 2010 in the Washington Times compares the penalties of the US to those of Mexico.  An interesting sidenote is that their law says Mexico can deport foreigners who are deemed detrimental to “economic or national interests,” violate Mexican law, are not “physically or mentally healthy” or lack the “necessary funds for their sustenance” and for their dependents.

Now, all of that being said and out of the way, a person’s status is not a question with me.  It just doesn’t cross my mind most of the time.  I have met and worked for and with people, adults and children, from all over the world and have decided that it doesn’t matter.  I have worked with and for some wonderful people and also some jerks.  A jerk is a jerk no matter where you are from.  It’s not something I discuss with them and in my role as a Sunday School teacher, it is nothing to me.  You see, as proud of my American citizenship as I am, I am only a stranger here.  I am an ambassador and recruiter for a Kingdom that is not made with hands and is not of this world.

My job is to get people, especially children, to transfer their citizenship and the greatest thing is that you can come as you are and the King Himself will help you with what you need to learn.  You don’t have to come to him as “A person of good moral character.”  He will teach you and empower you and embolden you to become that, not by your own strength, but His.  And while there are fees associated with becoming a citizen of every country in the world, He paid the price for us to join His Kingdom.  Not only that, but your citizenship includes complete and unlimited access to the throne of the King Himself.  You can address him directly.  You also have access to his eternal Constitution and can study it for yourself.  I get to help teach some of the stuff that’s in there, too.

Another thing about this Kingdom is that the King doesn’t care about nationality, race or skin color, He believes that “All men are created equal.”  He just gives us all different looks so we can tell each other apart.

Remember, the good (song)book says, “…Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight…”