“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” — Mark Twain.
This commentary is by Bob Stannard of Manchester, an author, musician and former state legislator and lobbyist.
For decades our elected leaders have struggled with people wanting to come to America and how best to allow them to do so. Or at least we’d like to think that they have.
After all this time, it’s safe to say that, much like the abortion issue, some legislators would prefer that a solution not be found so that they can use the issue for their own political gain. Please do not gasp at reading this, as it happens all the time and it’s not just one political party over another. In the case of immigration, it’s darn near everyone who’s trying to capitalize on the issue.
“Build a wall” was the mantra of the previous, twice-impeached and more recently convicted sexual assaulter, notwithstanding the fact that there’s never been a wall built that cannot be breached. The catchy phrase was just that — a catchy phrase.
When elected to the presidency, the former president’s party controlled both the Senate and the House and even then they showed us that they were incapable of either building a wall or addressing the immigration. Now that control of both Houses is divided, we shouldn’t be holding our breath for that Kumbaya moment to arrive anytime soon.
So, what can we do?
I spent the last two weeks in the South, not a place where anyone who knows me would think I’d feel all that comfortable. That may be because you don’t travel enough. Sure, I’m not all that thrilled with the political beliefs and agendas that are coming out of the South, but that wouldn’t stop me from traveling here.
Granted, I almost canceled this trip upon watching the GOP-controlled Tennessee legislature expel Reps Justin Pierson and Justin Jones for having the audacity to stand up for kids who don’t want to be shot while in school. Once the Justins were reinstated, I packed my bags.
While in Memphis, Tennessee, I had the pleasure of seeing and hanging out with old and some new friends. I attended the 23rd annual Blues Music Awards. It’s a pretty hip event, especially for an old-timer who’s dedicated most of his life to playing this music.
From Memphis we went to Clarksdale, Mississippi, where we were joined by our friend Anthony Geraci. Anthony had won the Pinetop Perkins Award for Best Piano Player of the Year. Yes, he’s that good and as an aside he will be performing at the Double E Theater in Essex on June 3. Get your tickets here.
He and I were talking about the political stunts that occured over immigration, such as Govs. Greg Abbot and Ron DeSantis’ not-so-cute trick to relocate immigrants to other states. You may recall that DeSantis put people on a plane and flew them to Martha’s Vineyard. According to The New York Times, “flights paid for with state money in possible violation of the state law that allocated the money; a charter airline company with political ties to the Florida governor.”
Anthony asked the obvious question, “Why not hold the pilots, or the bus drivers and their respective companies accountable and liable?” When you think about it, that’s a very good idea. It’s illegal to kidnap and transport people, especially children, across state lines. If the bus drivers and/or the pilots, who are little more than pawns in the game, knew that they would be subjected to a $100,000 fine and 10 years in jail, do you think they’d get behind the wheel? If the penalties were also levied at the corporations (we agreed that in this case the fines should be tenfold more), perhaps they might think twice before gleefully participating as an accessory to this crime.
Granted, this idea may not solve the grander, more complex components of the immigration situation (I don’t see it as a problem, as ours is a nation of immigrants) and how to address people coming here illegally, but it would serve to bringing a halt to the too-cute-by-half games that are being played with people’s lives.
Clearly we need to do something. We need to look at the root cause versus the symptoms. Why are people feeling the need to risk everything, including their lives, to come here? What can we do to stop people from wanting to leave to begin with? What can we do about those who have been here for many years and have children who are born here?
It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible. All it takes is the will to want to do something and to work together to make it happen. Stop playing games and do something. Try listening to the piano player. He has a better grip on solutions than most politicians.
