Borders

Good fences make good neighbors – 17^th Century Proverb

If you own real estate, it’s a good bet you have it at least partly fenced. New housing developments nearly always come with fencing these days. Maybe you want to keep your animals from wandering off or want to create a safe, private zone for your kids to play. It might even be for your own privacy, or to keep your neighbor’s animals or kids from indiscriminately using your land. In any event, that fence or block wall delimits the boundary of your property. It is a physical statement for others to keep out.

That fence denotes your sovereign right as a property owner to use that ground for your own exclusive purposes. You alone may decide who can enter that ground. Any unwanted intruders can be subject to arrest and removal. Your home is your domain.

Countries too have boundaries. Their borders denote the extent of their sovereign land. They have the right, even duty, to decide who can enter. Unwanted intrusion is called invasion and can rightly be repelled by force. Those entering without proper authorization can and must be expelled – and for the same reason you would have the police expel an intruder on your property – they are unwanted and do not belong there.

In this country, the individual states somehow abrogated the right to determine residence to the federal government. It is up to the federal government to determine suitability for individuals to reside here. As a matter of safety, security, and national well-being, our government has the duty to make every effort to ensure that any person entering the country will not become a burden, commit a crime, or inflict harm on this nation or its citizens. This is the same procedure you probably use when inviting someone into your home.

Those who advocate open borders would have you remove your doors, take down your fences, and let anyone do whatever they like on or in your property. How long do you think your possessions would remain safe? How long before those unwanted guests begin to fence you from your own property? Why should you pay a mortgage and maintain insurance for property you have no control over? How long would it be before total anarchy reigns supreme on the land you own?

In the United States, we have codified into law the requirements for entering this country. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has the responsibility and authority for enforcing and maintaining Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This code clearly defines the qualifications and quotas for every form of entry into this country. These include, reason for visit or stay, health certification, means of return to place of origin, criminal history, and determination of intent to not do harm while here. For long-term residence, the vetting is necessarily deeper and takes longer to make a sound determination of an individual’s suitability for life in this country.

Quotas ensure that immigrants from a single country do not flood into the country and reduce the ability to take in people from another country. Quotas are also necessary to ensure that our citizens are not impacted by people coming here that cannot find jobs and be productive members of our society.

There are no qualifications in Title 8 or any other immigration or visitation policy that would deny entry of an individual based on their religious preference.

Of course, criminals, terrorists, unskilled labor, unemployable people, or undesirables are and should be excluded from entry, and those here illegally should be expelled. You would expect the same for your own property. That is why you have locks on your doors, fences on your property and police to enforce your right to your own property.

A Promise is a Promise

Politicians are terrible at keeping campaign promises. I think we have actually grown to expect that from politicians. Donald Trump is no politician. We knew that when we elected him. We also knew the promises he made to “Make America Great Again.”

So why are so many people surprised that he is actually doing what he promised? Sure, the Democrats didn’t like his campaign. They didn’t like his stands on issues like immigration, trade agreements, the XL pipeline, energy policy, climate change, plans to defeat ISIS, accepting refugees, and national security, to mention just a few.

That was not what the campaign was about, however. The campaign between Clinton and Trump was mostly lacking in debate about issues and devolved into a campaign of personalities and the need to elect a woman as President. Why the Democratic Party chose to run one of the most untrustworthy persons available is a mystery that may never be revealed. In classic Donald Trump style, he managed to push her buttons and shift focus from his bombastic statements to force the campaign into a battle of personalities.

Were Clinton’s campaign advisers listening when Trump would blurt out promises that were completely anathema to their “Progressive” platform? If so, why did they not force debate on those issues? Instead, they seemed to think that no one would ever accept such outrageous position in a President, and simply let those statements pass with only cursory acknowledgment of them.

Now, yes only now, do they amass in protest at the actions our duly elected President takes on those “outrageous” promises he made on the campaign trail. That those promises were made completely devoid of detail was never brought to the attention of the public. The sound bites and hollow promises had an appeal to those fed up with “Progressive” platitudes and political correctness.

We knew Donald Trump was not politically correct when we voted for him – probably why we voted for him. Why, then, is it such a surprise that he is keeping those hollow promises? Why are there such protests now? It’s too late folks; Trump is our President!

I watched on television when President Trump signed his executive orders. They appeared to be written on a single sheet of standard sized paper, in large font, with very few words. Well, that might be expected from a man whose campaign and public announcements are mostly limited to 140 characters on Twitter.

Unfortunately, orders of that size are bound to leave out much in the way of detail, and, as they say, the devil is in the details.

Can we simply chalk this up to the act of an inexperienced Chief Executive? Maybe, but Trump is not an inexperienced Chief Executive. He has managed a huge, successful enterprise for a very long time. Perhaps this is just his management style. Not being familiar with the Trump company, I can’t say with certainty, but perhaps his style is to issue top level orders and let those under him flesh out the details. I call this focusing on the big picture and is common in top-down leaders. This seems to be what he has done with his recent Executive Orders.

Sadly, focusing on the big picture alone is not focusing at all. An executive – any executive – must understand the minutia of the details before placing a stamp of approval on the idea. Sound bites and  “tweets” do not make for good Executive Orders.

While I wholeheartedly approve of the principal Trump’s orders are based on, the development and execution of those orders leave very much to be desired.

Obama sowed the seeds of discontent and racial divide. Grown in poisoned ground fertilized by long decades of progressive socialism, those seeds are now growing into monstrous trees ready to bear evil fruit. The slogan “Make America Great Again” is about chopping down those evil-fruit trees and removing that poison ground. Those who voted for Donald Trump believe he can and will reverse that evil trend toward progressive socialism.

Can Trump get that job done? I dearly hope so, but he’s not off to a very good start. Let’s hope and pray he can get things turned around. After all, a promise is a promise, and it is obvious President Trump intends to keep his promises.