We are a country of immigrants!

At the end of last week, I saw a report on the Republican Party trying to use immigration and problems at the southern border as an issue to focus on for the upcoming midterm elections.

Yes, currently there are a lot of people from various countries, especially from Central and South America, trying to come to our country for a better life. More often than not, they are fleeing poverty and crime.

You really can not blame any human being for trying to escape poverty, crime, or war, so why do so many of us in the United States not want people from other countries to come here and make a better life for themselves?

The United States is a nation of immigrants. Immigrants have made this country great. Immigrants have brought us the best parts of their culture and customs, as well as their delicious foods, and we have incorporated those things into American culture!

Anyone railing against immigrants and immigration should ask themselves how they or their ancestors came here. Unless you are a member of the indigenous people, you have no leg to stand on, arguing against immigrants and immigration.

Yes, things that are new and “alien” to us can be scary. Mostly, though, people are more alike than they are different. On a basic level, we all just want food, shelter, and a safe place to raise our kids.

Another thing to think about is this, do you enjoy ethnic foods? Do you listen to a variety of music? Do you watch sports? Do you dance? Do you travel? If you do or enjoy any of those things, why would you be against people from another country coming here for a better life?

Our diversity of foods is due to immigrants. Much of the music we listen to has influences from other countries. Many forms of dancing originated in other countries. Sports are already suffused with players from other countries, and most sports are played in many parts of the world. Isn’t vacation travel a way of short-term immigration? Why would you enjoy going to Mexico and other countries in Central and South America for example, enjoy the food and ancient cultures and then come here and not want people from the country you visited as a tourist to be able to move here to live and work?

Yes, the process of immigration needs to be controlled and organized, we should not just open our borders and allow people to walk in undocumented, but we certainly should not close our borders and turn away people who are looking for a better, safer life.

As long as there has been the movement of people across the Earth, there have been people who did not like new people coming to “their” countries. Newsflash, borders are mostly man-made lines on paper! The world belongs to all of its inhabitants! Besides sharing this one Earth, we must start working together and take better care of it.

Well, migration is the way of the world and I do not think that it can or should be stopped. Diversity is a good thing! We may want to get used to that fact and try to organize the flow of immigrants rather than fight against it.

Coming back to the Republicans who want to make an issue out of immigration, they are trying to divert attention from their lack of positive issues that they can focus on to attract voters.

They have been anti-immigrant, anti-abortion, anti-equal rights, anti-voting rights, anti-democracy, anti-student debt forgiveness, anti-climate change prevention, anti-paid family leave, anti, anti, anti…never mind their crazy conspiracy theories and their persistent spreading of lies about the 2020 election.

What are Republicans in favor of? Republicans want to keep our borders closed to immigrants, they want guns to be readily available to anyone, without any restrictions, they want to make voting more difficult and if possible, not allow some parts of our population to vote at all. Republicans want to restrict our civil rights, they want to control women and their reproductive organs, they want to establish a system of white supremacy and fascism, and they want to rewrite our history by controlling what is being taught about it in schools. Republicans want power and control!