A point few ever raise.
Where is our migrant problem with all the other nations in the world? Across which border are the Europeans, Russians, Ausies, Kiwis, Africans, Chinese, Japanese, etc., pouring over by the thousands?
Oh, wait, they are not pouring over our border–that distinction belongs to Mexico.
I do recall, in history, that many Europeans poured into our country in the late 1800s and early 1900s–many of those were poor and had nothing when they came here. We made no effort to build a wall in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to stop them–we welcomed them with open arms. Does anyone doubt that those people would have still come here even if we did not welcome them? They were fleeing horrible conditions. Forward to today: we no longer receive Europeans as we did back then. Why is that? It is because the European nations now do a good job of caring for their own.
Like it or not, Mexico is our neighbor–building a wall will certainly slow down the crossings, and the USA has every right to protect the nation. However, this will not end until Mexico starts caring for its own in a way that stops its citizens from needing to come here, just as European nations recovered and took care of their own.
The solution is not a wall. The solution is to look at Mexico as our neighbor and to start doing everything we can to help them care for themselves, without need to flee to the USA. Only then, will this problem conclude, and that is the only way it will conclude well.
We spend trillions on wars and nation building, and we lose thousands of lives in doing the same–but we never do the same for our own neighbor.
Do you not understand? Mexicans should NOT want to flee here–they should have to be faced with no choice but to flee here to help care for their families. That must be fixed, and until it is, this problem will not go away no matter how many walls we build.
The Pope knows all this–he knows walls only lock people in and out, they do not solve any real problems. I believe he wants the most powerful and most blessed nation in the world to work hard to fix this the right way. We must help lift Mexico up so its people no longer need to come here–barring that, this will not end.
I have heard many people say they don’t like to when the Mexican act as if they don’t want to be American–well, hint: they don’t. They want to live in Mexico, but they cannot have a life there. They appreciate being able to find what they need here–but they long for their own land. That is not terribly hard to understand.
Put yourself on the other side of that wall–would you find a way to help your family, or would you just give up and die?
Put yourself on the wrong side of the Berlin wall and your spouse and kids managed to get to the other side where life is so much better–would you not do almost anything to join them?
Think of how proud so many people were of Ronald Reagan when he said, “Tear down this wall!” Yet, now, we find ourselves fighting to be able to put up our own wall. Sure, I know the circumstances are different, but there are many similarities.
There are better and more humane ways to treat people. That is what the Pope is trying to get us to realize.
Well put.