hola, y ahora estoy en colombia.
many people have asked me what i think about the anti-immigration law that recently passed in arizona. and, to be honest, i think it’s a disgusting piece of legislation. it’s american politics at its worst, as the arizona anti-immigrant law is both racist and fascist. i know that ‘fascist’ is an over-used term among progressives to describe legislation with which they disagree, but how else do you describe a law that compels the police to check the papers of people who look like they might be illegal?
it’s a racist law, and it’s an awful law, and it makes me ashamed of my country. america is a country of immigrants. almost every citizen of the united states either is an immigrant or is the offspring of immigrants. immigration is what has traditionally made america great, it’s what enables america to change and remain dynamic, and it’s what gives america it’s eclecticism and diversity. but there are always old, white, right wing, republicans who want america to be white only.
that old, white, racist, republican part of america is the worst part of the united states, and the part of the united states of which i’m most ashamed. i’m ashamed of the wall being built between mexico and the united states. i’m ashamed of the anti-immigrant law that was passed in arizona. i’m ashamed of any americans who want to change or ignore history and pretend that america is not (and has not always been) a country of and for immigrants. for the american dream to exist at all it has to exist for all. the american dream is one of democracy, freedom of belief, and freedom of expression, and it’s at it’s best when it’s applied without hesitation or restriction. when the american dream is applied selectively based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, or belief is when the american dream is denigrated and compromised, sometimes beyond all recognition.
here is a part of the poem by emma lazarus, some of which is on the statue of liberty in new york harbor:
America:
‘Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
that is america at its best. what happened in arizona with the anti-immigrant legislation is america at its worst.
moby