How about that. For the first time I have nothing to say. Something usually comes out after a few minutes but not so far. Writing about not have anything to write about... Would that be considered a non sequitur? I'm not sure. Definitions get a little fuzzy as I get older.
I'm not saying that I could provide an unequivocal definition if asked on my best day in the past. I might have been able to stammer a few unintelligible explanations as to what a word meant to me. Such "definitions" would show the clarity of my mind which has never been pinpoint accurate.
Take the word 'ILLEGAL." Simply put it it means not legal. If an activity is illegal, it is an activity that is not legal. If not legal it is against the law to participate in such activity. Thus an illegal alien is not in the country legally which means he or she is breaking the law and thus would be considered a criminal.
It's a sore spot for me. Each year until I was 22 years old I had to fill out a registration card to report that I was not a citizen of the U.S. who resided here. That card provided the government of my status and gave me another year of legal residency. Without sending that card in annually I would have been here under the cloud of deportation. It was quite the stimulus to mail my card in. After I turned 22 I applied for citizenship, took the test alone in front of a local judge and was sworn in on the day Bobby Kennedy was killed, June 5, 1968.
No longer did the threat of deportation come with New Year's. I was free to join the USAF and attend Officer's Training School since I was a naturalised citizen. I now had all the privileges of a natural born citizen. It was all legal and above board. It was all through the law of the land.
So each time I read about illegal aliens flaunting the laws of this country I get a little hot under the collar. I know that each case probably should be weighed in the courts and in instances there may be good reason to allow them to stay and apply for citizenship. It wrankles, though, that there are so many who slip into the country and share all the privileges without sanction of the law. We are a land of laws. I think that we also provide mercy that waves the law for good reason in certain cases. Does this mean we should accept the actions of those who come complaining about their treatment when they are breaking the laws? To be illegal is to be breaking the law from the very start.
It's a very complex issue I know. I also know there is a right way to do it. I am a full supporter of those who are here through legal means. I see no other country that would tolerate the behavior of illegal aliens within their borders. Why do we have other countries interfering in our dealing with this very serious problem?
I'm sorry. I have a very soft spot in my heart for this country. I don't have a soft spot for trespassers. I've gotten too political here. It was spurred on by the Post and Courier's front page story--LAW ON ILLEGALS ASSAILED.
I might add Sirhan Sirhan, who was proved guilty of the murder of Bobby Kennedy, was an alien who was here legally. He had all the privileges of the U.S. which included a fair trial. His trial ended in his being incarcerated under the death penalty. The death penalty was removed and he is now serving a life sentence. His sentence is under appeal because there is evidence which could prove him innocent. There you have it. A citizen of Jordan lived in the U.S. through legal immigration. He shared the privileges of this country. He chose the wrong path. He was tried, not summarily shot as he probably would have been in Jordan. He never chose to become an American citizen. He is now given all his needs by the U.S. government but he was never deported. He was not an illegal alien. Perhaps in his case he should have been even though legal. Maybe it is too complicated.
All of which leads me to say, "Is this a great country or what?"
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