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The way it was; The way it is
Topic Started: Apr 14 2007, 09:13 AM (333 Views)
Condor
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Ruler of the Mountain
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Kith & Kin:
A favor needed: If your local publication prints real estate news, please alert ye editor to www.joeklock.com, where there's mucho info about my new book, 'The Real World Of Selling Real Estate." Also, if it is NOT carrying the column, send me an e-mail address so we can send THEM a press release. Thanks a bunch!
Joe

KNAVE LABOR RAMPANT IN THE LAND OF THE FREE

By Joe Klock, Sr.

During World War II, anyone lithe enough to jitterbug and/or not stone deaf was familiar with the Glenn Miller band's instrumental rendition of "American Patrol."
Almost as well known was a vocal version entitled "We Must Be Vigilant," by Phil Spitalny's All-Girl Orchestra, with lyrics added by Edgar Leslie.
It was a patriotic and toe-tapping wartime tune, the words in which included, "We must be vigilant, we must be diligent, American Patrol; protect our shoreline to the doorline of every native soul."
Aside to the sub-geezer segment of our readership: If the above references (including "patriotic") are unfamiliar to you, read the above passage to the oldest American you know and watch his/her eyes glaze over in happy reverie.
It was music - and a mind set - belonging to an era when our nation was in danger of takeover by foreign nationals who were determined to rob us of birthrights which were envied by the rest of the world.
At the time, we were fiercely united in our determination to avoid such a national disaster and totally intolerant of those sympathetic to any such threatening cause.
Were anyone then to have disrespected the flag, preached the overthrow of our government by subversion or violence, or attempted to bypass Ellis Island en route to citizenship, they would have enjoyed the same degree of popularity as snitches in the Mafia or junk yard mutts at the Westminster Dog Show.
Fast-forward to the present scene, wherein an estimated 12 million aliens are resident among us and seeking to share the inalienable rights established by our founders - supposedly protected by those elected to govern us.
Admittedly, most of these invaders were motived to come here, albeit illegally, by human drives which would have driven me to do the same, if fate had put me in their circumstances. I do not, therefore, demonize them for being human and reaching for a better life.
Anyone whose heart doesn't go out to such fugitives from deprivation and/or persecution should quickly check to make sure they have a palpable pulse.
Also, it is an undeniable fact that many - if not most - of those refugees now contribute to American society in positive ways, much in the same ways as my own ancestors (and yours) did after migrating from other lands.
Those who are now gainfully employed, law-abiding and genuinely interested in blending into our society are, legitimately and potentially, prime candidates for future citizenship, except for one overarching impediment: they are, technically, criminals.
All other considerations aside, they have broken our immigration laws and are here - politically correct euphemisms notwithstanding - illegally.
Thus, it chilled my aging bones to see TV clips of a "peaceful demonstration" in which "undocumented immigrants" paraded behind a banner which read "Today we march - tomorrow we vote!" (HELLO?)
A grave threat to America today is the failure to protect our borders (read those shorelines of the 40s) and to deal justly with the millions who have oozed through its porosity.
As this is being written, our Senators and Reprehensibles, as well as His Obstinacy in the White House, are engaging in pointless and ineffective exchanges of political posturing and oratorical flatulence, flimsily underpinned by a total absence of the courage it will take to confront and resolve the problem.
Those illegal's who are ready, willing and able to earn a path to citizenship can and should be given an opportunity to do so; the others should be thrown out. Amen?
Step one, obviously, is separating the sheep from the goats. If that means that everyone, Old Joe included, has to pack a verifiable ID card of some sort, so be it.
Those who are here illegally should be slapped with a reasonable monetary penalty and a manageable timetable for paying it, in exchange for admittance to a gradual path inclined toward full citizenship.
Once on that path, they should be required, quite simply, to shape up or ship out.
Putting together a program like that should not be too daunting a task for our elected leaders, if they would just hunker down to it and ignore the pressure groups snapping at their heels.
Long before there was an all-girl band singing the same tune, Andrew Jackson, in his Farewell Address, memorably counseled, "You must remember, my fellow citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people, is the price of liberty, and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing."

Freelance wordworker Joe Klock, Sr. (joeklock@aol.com) is a winter Floridian who summers in New Hampshire. More of his "Klockwork," is at www.joeklock.com.

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April 15, 2007


The KlockWorks, Inc., 606 Island Drive, Key Largo, FL 33037-4808
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