A Wall. Really?

If immigration is truly a problem (and sure. Fine. I agree), building a wall is the stupidest possible solution. It’s really like the slow kid in class tries really hard to answer a question, totally misses the mark, you want to reward the effort anyway, so say Good job.

Teacher: okay class. Today we’re going to discuss solutions to what has been called an immigration problem. You read various sources, what do you think.

Student 1: well, we could deal with the problems in the country of origin.

Student 2: yeah, maybe if we provided aid at the cause of the problem, there would be less people trying to flee their home coutnries.

Student 3: it’s not really our country’s responsibility to deal with other countries. Maybe we should look at our immigration laws and adapt them to the times we’re in.

Student 4: but is it our responsibility to help if we helped create the problem?

Student 5: regardless of origin, we have a problem that needs fixing. Let’s admit it, form a committee to look at solutions, and then discuss and debate them.

Student 6: I KNOW!!! WE COULD JUST BUILD A WALL AROUND THE WHOLE PLACE. THEN NO ONE CAN COME IN!

The Wall is a 5.7 Billion dollar waste of money. It’s the worst possible solution. It shows no creativity, addresses no actual problems.

If it does anything, it creates a goal for people to go over to get past.

We need better solutions. That’s what this series is about.

I’m not interested here, in writing about pros and cons of issues. Like: pro- or anti- wall. To take one side, and argue for that, in my view, is to miss the larger issue - at least most of the time.

I’m much more interested in what’s at the heart of the issue. I’m interested in why people think and believe the way they do. I’m interested in hearing from those people, and thinking about causes of problems. That is what this series is about.

The next post, Friday (have you noticed the Tuesday / Friday pattern) exits the introduction and begins the meat of the UnWoke Series. Friday’s post is Feb. 1, and the content for February will all be about Black History Month.