John Tsitrian isn’t the only thoughtful and thought-provoking member of his family. The Rapid City blogger’s daughter Emily Tsitrian sends a fine travelogue from “extraordinary, friendly, clean, and cosmopolitan” Mexico City, which inspires her to muse about a paradigm shift in border policy: instead of all this talk of building walls and deporting Mexicans, the younger Tsitrian wonders why we don’t make the Mexican-American border as open to immigration as we do to trade:
I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to have a virtually open border with Mexico, easy ways to obtain temporary work permits (for both sides!) and much better collaboration in the fight against the violence of the cartels and economic assistance for rural farmers in need of help (which are completely related – cartels have been capitalizing on the desperation of the rural poor by providing economic security in order to “win” them over). Drug cartels have terrorized Mexicans for years now, aggravated by the last two presidencies, and yet the mass beheadings and shootings somehow do not meet the terrorism definition and do not thusly receive the attention they deserve. I think both countries could do a much better job of collaborating on common interests, but unfortunately the xenophobic rhetoric that plagues our political culture at this moment is not incentivizing politicians to take this on [Emily Tsitrian, Facebook post, featured in Dad’s blog, 2015.11.29].
The European Union guarantees as a fundamental right the ability of “every EU citizen to travel, work and live in any EU country without special formalities” in the Schengen Area. The Paris terrorist attack and other fears now imperil the Schengen Area, as the continent that spectacularly and peacefully tore down walls in 1989 is now debating putting them back up.
Openness inherently brings vulnerability, but as Emily Tsitrian says, it also brings strength through cooperation. Tsitrian thus raises a good question: does the greatest nation in the world cower in fear behind a wall, or does it open its doors and engage the citizens of the world in commerce and leisure that strengthens communities on both sides of the border?
It’s time for all Americans to enjoy the protection of law by being part of one nation: erase the artificial borders and grant Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness to all the people of North America…Mexico, Central America, Canada, even the Caribbean if they’ll have us.
ip is not a New World Order guy, does not support the North American Union (god bless you. please, mr. roddenberry) and believes that the US Constitution is a big enough canvas in order to paint a more perfect masterpiece, a big enough score for all to sing. No violence. No more drug wars.
Read Alaska’s constitution some time. The last states ratified are the most egalitarian. Let’s debate it then draft a dream referendum to be delivered by and for the people of Mexico to dissolve their constitution and petition for Statehood as our 52nd State. Quebec could be the 53rd and Cuba, the 54th.
Then we can all join hands and sing? Sorry, but there’s gonna be another paradigm shift like after 9/11. Merkel wants to fast track Turkey in to the EU and allow the Syrian refugees to pass through Europe’s open boarders. A recent study shows 8% of Turks are sympathetic to ISIS. After they get passports they can fly anywhere and will choose the easiest entrance points to grow their terrorist cells. Rather than fly in to the U.S. have an easy open boarder? Why don’t we just give them free guns too.
Yeah, I’m carrying it far, but security and how to handle ISIS is the top criteria to Americans in the Presidential race. They’re scared so bombastic Trump fits the bill. You’re gonna see America take steps, and very possibly the wrong ones, to feel safe 180 degrees from this suggestion which is 20 or 40 years too late.
I do entirely agree with her though that the horrific acts of the drug trade do not get enough attention. Our drug policy is a failure. Including that thing we can’t talk about.
What does your study say about wingnuts being sympathetic to domestic terrorists?
What percentage approves of killing abortion providers,cops,blacks and other minorities just because they believe it is their gawd given right?
‘murrica wake up. The real terrorists live among us and hide behind the 1st and 2nd amendments to the constitution, the NRA and the party of wasichu white wasteys-Rethuglicans.
And we once had open boarders with Mexico which didn’t work out too well for them. Granted that a long time ago but most recently the United States has not respected the boarders of sovereign nations when “our” interests have been threatened, so I’m not sure any country would be wise to welcome us with easy access. Would you trust us?
Kurtz – there are 31 states in the EUM (Estados Unidos Mexicanos) or in English, the United States of Mexico. Each state is as proiud of its own identity as are our own 50. There are approx. 135 MM citizens – about 1/3 as many as the USA. Admitting them as ONE state – ain’t gonna work. Then there is the issue of WILLINGNESS on their own part. I canb guarantee you – they don’t want that. They are proud (rightly so) of their own country. Not involved in any foreign wars – non-imperialistic – socialistic in general – their cultural values are very different to those in the US.
Thank you, Mr. Schriever. You are, of course, very wrong.
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-435378
America is the Hamiltonian Empire Thomas Jefferson warned us about.
http://www.makochemedia.com/wimpy2013/player2013.html
Let’s export 11 million wingnuts permanently to our friends to the south. They will be nice and warm. A perfect taste of what awaits them when they’re dead.
I read a prediction of the future the other day: When the newly elected Trump/Fiorina ticket takes office, Mexico will build the wall, just as Trump promised, to keep millions of fleeing Americans from entering Mexico to escape the newly elected fascist administration.
Clearly, Emily’s suggestion makes more sense. We need to be able to freely immigrate to Mexico if any of the current crop of Republican candidates becomes President and Republicans hold the House and Senate.
Walls aren’t as strong as culture. Remember the Berlin Wall and all the barbed wire around the Warsaw Pact?
Bear, I’m not ready to run—heck, I won’t even abandon South Dakota over corrupt, corporatist leadership, let alone the whole country. But we can’t dedicate our national wealth to living in fear and walling ourselves off from the rest of the world.
http://lubbockonline.com/editorial-letters/2015-11-26/letter-what-if-we-annexed-mexico#.Vly5P3vyu0d
The annexed part makes some sense as most of the Southwest and California was once Mexico.
agreed, jerry.
The offer to ask the people of Mexico to dissolve their constitution and petition for US statehood is an alternative to the eventual annexation of the Mexican state. Exactly why Presidente Enrique Peña Nieto is urging the liberalization of drug laws there just as Canada’s prime minister is urging the parliament to do.
In other words: America is between Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) and enclume canada.
kurtz – all of those links you have provided are dreamy-eyed Americans – none of them are Mexicans. Don’t they have a voice in the matter? See if you can find a link to a Mexican suggesting this.
http://www.abqjournal.com/683752/news/scars-remain-as-juaacutere-zrecovers-from-drug-violence.html
Another good article to point a way in which we can all live in peace. America always had in its sights what the Spaniards called, America. To the Spaniards there was no South, Central or North America, it was America as a whole that was called exactly that. We wanted Canada and invaded it, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annexation_movements_of_Canada
Mexico was invaded as well and was captured to the point that an insurgency was started and part of the American army was defeated there. The slave balance was also considered as at that point, the states entering the union had to be equal of slave and non slave. The only way in which Mexico would ever come on board would be as an equal partner at this point as it could not be divided into two states or more for the slave on non slave issue. Today, only and open border would accomplish the same.
Living in a state that is about as far from the ocean as one can get, I prefer my trips to Mexico to include white beaches and turquoise water. While Cancun itself might be “sterile”, the Yucatan Peninsula and it’s Riviera Maya is rich with Mayan culture and history. And if it’s your desire to go slumming and rub elbows with the hoi polloi the towns of Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Paamul, Akumal, Tulum, Tankah and Punta Allen along the Yucatan coast will provide you with more than enough opportunities to flaunt your inner cosmopolitan, voyeuristic self.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/26/opinion/martinez-kurtz-phelan-north-american-passport/
A North American Passport could also be one of the most important decisions we make to help in climate change as well. By combining all with a common goal, could be the tide that lifts all ships in North America. The possibilities that could happen are enormous.
While police in Mexico are part of the problem Americans will always be less safe. Only after Mexicans are American citizens will the FBI have the power to weed out bad actors just like it’s supposed to be in the US now.
standing on the shore south of ft. yates, SRST, you can see water to the horizon to the southsouthwest. reminds me of san diego. standing on the shore south of lapakahi, coyote, the horizon doesn’t even look that big.