The Alternative

The Wall 
     I am constantly bombarded with email forwards about the dastardly deeds and potential dangers of Islamic extremism and other foreign interlopers.
     A wall on the Mexican border has become the popular solution. This will supposedly protect American workers from the unfair competition of people who want to work hard. And the Jihadis will not be able to get through and blow things up.
     The claim that “illegals” are receiving benefits that should be reserved only for citizens opens up a topic that is largely ignored but the most important of all. It could be argued that non-citizens are less deserving of someone else's property. I contend that no one is deserving of anyone else's property.
     A lot of this discussion is driven by a desire for prosperity and prosperity can only come from the fruits of our labor staying with us. Otherwise, incentive to produce is reduced or eliminated. Socialist governments fail because we can't fight human nature. The law exists because selfishness invariably impacts other people who deserve to keep what they've earned.
     To claim that our country is in danger because foreigners can take “our benefits” validates those benefits, and those benefits are more destructive than the invaders themselves. Among the benefits at risk are all the socialistic programs that are dragging this country down.
     Social Security has replaced a family structure where grandparents cared for the children of their working children. The children later cared for the grandparents. It worked fine. Family has more innate incentive to care for each other than the faceless bureaucracy of government office workers. Gratitude plays a big part as well.
     Government drinking ages and drug laws have taught us that we are not responsible for our actions. When bad things happen because of drugs or alcohol we first say, “where did they get it” rather than, “how foolish or disrespectful.” This leads to further calls to replace self respect and respect for others with state mandates. State mandates don't inspire love and respect, they produce defiance, black markets, crime, and skyrocketing costs.
     If our country's laws merely protected our property rather than trying (unsuccessfully) to manage, improve, insure, incentivize, equalize, and coddle our lives, then a much smaller government could make it impossible for terrorists or welfare cheats to survive here. And they would either return home or become contributing members of society.
     A military that defends our borders instead of the rest of the world could make the border a filter, not a wall that excludes valuable contributors along with the ones we should keep out. It would also keep that military from creating more disasters around the world that come to haunt us later.
     Build the wall for a Band-Aid if you've given up on our republic. Or eliminate theft from our government's duties in order to solve domestic problems and keep us safe from invaders. A wall might keep out a few criminals. But our welfare state produces them right here at a much higher rate.
 
     Comments on this article are welcome as a letter to the paper or to me at 4selfgovernment@gmail.com. My blog is www.alternativebyfritz.com