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Summary
Question: Does what’s going on at our southern border constitute a national crisis?
Answer: Yes.
Could this crisis have been avoided?
Of course. And fairly easily.
Whose fault is it?
“Round up the usual suspects.” Trump and his administration, Democrats in Congress, and, well, us. You and me.
For the next 10 minutes, we will talk about what this means to us as individuals, and to the future of our republic.
Transcript
Question: Does what’s going on at our southern border constitute a national crisis?
Answer: Yes.
Could this crisis have been avoided?
Of course. And fairly easily.
Whose fault is it?
“Round up the usual suspects.” Trump and his administration, Democrats in Congress, and, well, us. You and me.
For the next 10 minutes, we will talk about what this means to us as individuals, and to the future of our republic.
Pause for some perspective here: Since 1979, US presidents, including Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, “W” and Obama, have used the National Emergencies Act of 1975 to declare 58 national emergencies; 31 are still in effect. So let’s not act like Trump is alone in walking on possibly thin Constitutional ice.
How could this have been avoided? Simple: focus on the real issue, the core question, not personal and political warfare. The core question is clear, “Do we want secure borders?” If the answer is no, then nothing needs to be done, and there is, by definition, no emergency. Beto O’Rourke, a former Democratic member of Congress from Texas, and a name often mentioned as a candidate to be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2020, recently went on record opposing any extension of the existing border walls. His point was clear; if we add more wall-like barriers to entry, people wishing to come here illegally may suffer physically by having to travel further before finding any easy way to sneak in. That’s a man who wants open borders. And there are many more like him, although not all are as open about wanting open borders.
Assume the answer to the secure border question is yes, that we do not want open borders as we have between and amongst the states. Everyone crossing a state border has citizenship rights, including voting, benefits, etc., as soon as they show up as residents in a new state. When the secure border decision is made, the politicians need to step aside and ask experts, people who know about borders and such, to come up with a plan about how best to secure the 2,000 mile border, with the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars. Once the experts have presented the plan, including specifics and cost, there may be some questions, but with tweaks the expert plan should stand. The last thing we can allow our politicians to do is to go wandering out of their core competency. Leave the specific planning and implementation to professionals. In some areas, a wall of some sort, perhaps aided by technology and personnel, might be exactly the right solution. In the middle of the Rio Grande, likely not. But experts can tell us.
Politicians look at, for example, highway and bridge construction needs, and come up with funding. They don’t, thank goodness, tell the highway and bridge engineers how to lay out the highways and what materials to use. And they correctly stay away from telling the pros which type of bridge to use and where. But that is not happening with the critical issue of securing our border. Our politicians are micromanaging this issue; they think this benefits them, and it definitely harms us. And does anyone remember how badly the politicians screwed up the Vietnam war by micromanaging everything there, even including hand picking daily air strike targets? I damn well do. They shamefully wasted vast amounts of American blood and treasure by not letting the experts, the military, do their jobs.
In tort law, civil law, there is a doctrine called “last clear chance.” With an auto accident, for example, there is a valid question of who had the last clear chance to avoid the accident. With that doctrine in mind, let’s take a look at some of the recent border security history:
It is still not too late to ask our leaders to grow up and serve our nation instead of themselves and their parties. We have to speak up and demand–demand–they act like functioning adults, and not like 6-year-olds. Remember, if we want better candidates and better office holders, we need to be better voters. If we don’t act, then we will have been the ones who had the “last clear chance” to avoid this self-caused accident.
The core, driving principles at Revolution 2.0, are:
If we apply those two core principles, personal responsibility and brother’s keepers, simultaneously, never only one or the other, we will always be on the right path. Depending upon what we face, one principle or the other may appropriately be given more emphasis, but they are always acted upon together.
The Founders, Revolution 1.0, were declared traitors by the British Crown, and their lives were forfeit if caught. We risk very little by stepping up and participating in Revolution 2.0™. In fact, we risk our futures if we don’t. I am inviting you, recruiting you, to join Revolution 2.0™ today. Join with me in using what we know how to do–what we know we must do–to everyone’s advantage. Let’s practice thinking well of others as we seek common goals, research the facts that apply to those goals, and use non agenda-based reasoning to achieve those goals together. Practice personal responsibility and be your brother’s keeper.
Let’s continue to build on the revolutionary vision that we inherited. Read the blog, listen to the podcast, subscribe, recruit, act. Here’s what I mean by “acting.”
Revolution 1.0 in 1776 was built by people talking to other people, agreeing and disagreeing, but always finding ways to stay united and going forward. Revolution 2.0 will be built the same way.
Join me. Join the others. Think about what we are talking about and share these thoughts and principles with others. Subscribe, encourage others to subscribe. Act. Let’s grow this together.
And visit the store. Fun stuff, including hats, mugs and t-shirts. Recommend other items that you’d like to see.
Links and References
No Compromise, e.g., Walls as Part of Border? (EP. 96)
Contact
As we get ready to wrap up, please do respond in the blog with comments or questions about this podcast or anything that comes to mind, or connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. And you can subscribe to the podcast on your favorite device through Apple Podcasts, Google, or Stitcher.
Now it is time for our usual parting thought. It is not enough to be informed. It is not enough to be a well informed voter. We need to act. And if we, you and I, don’t do something, then the others who are doing something, will continue to run the show
Know your stuff, then act on it. Knowing your stuff without acting is empty; acting without knowing is dangerous.
Will Luden, writing to you from my home office at 7,200’ in Colorado Springs.
