Immigration

AP Photo

There I was at the immigration scene
Shining and feeling clean, could it be a sin
I got stopped by the immigration man
He says he doesn't know if he can let me in

Let me in, immigration man
Can I cross the line and pray
I can stay another day
Let me in, immigration man
I won't toe your line today
I can't see it anyway, hey-y


So I'm sitting in class tonight, and one of the kids shows their assignment photos from the Monday protest march in Austin, when one of the other kids goes into an outburst, "why the hell are they carrying a Mexican flag?" My reaction is, "why the hell not? who cares?" Okay, so the kid is only 20, and what the fuck does he know? But I know that his attitude is a common one.

And it really bothered me. It bugged me enought that I thought about it all the way home. Why are people so angry? When did our culture become so miserly? We've got ours so the hell with everyone else? is that it?

I don't have an answer to any of this because I don't get it. We are a wealthy, wealthy country. We can afford to be generous. We can afford to give these people a break, to give them their shot. I'm inclined to say, fuck it. Let them in. Document them, let them have their chance.

What happened to "give me your tired, your poor, your downtrodden"? maybe it was always an illusion, or maybe it's just one more ideal that we've abandonned on our way to being the toughest guy on the planet.

(Song lyrics: Immigration Man, Graham Nash)