Stand up and be counted
For what you are about to receive
We are the dealers
We’ll give you everything you need~AC/DC
For those about to rock (we salute you)
I’m going out on a limb and guessing that Angus, Malcolm, and Brian weren’t thinking of the Constitution and the census when they wrote this song, but ya never know. Song lyrics can be deeply deceptive, ya know. Take these lines right here… be counted, receive… and it could be. That’s pretty much how it works these days.
Of course I’m being facetious here and poking some fun, but it’s a good way to slide in to a more serious frame of mind.
One of the many Trump-induced brouhahas of late is the census. In short, Mr Trump wants to add the question, “Are you a citizen?”, I’m paraphrasing but that’s the gist, to the census. Deceptively simple. Short. Clear. Are you a citizen of the United States of America, or are you not? It has been asked in prior censuses, but not all, so there is precedent. In my mind, it should have been a base question since the very first census, and never dropped. It’s certainly more relevant than some of the other questions asked in prior years, i.e.; “Do you own a radio?” (1930), “Value of personal estate?” (1870), “Does your home have a gas or electric clothes dryer?” (1960), (all paraphrased) as just a few examples.
But oh, you should hear the hue and cry and the wailing and gnashing of teeth by those on the left and/or opposed to Mr Trump just because he’s Mr Trump… some of these people would oppose anything Mr Trump proposed even if it were their idea, and some are honestly on the opposite side of the ideological spectrum.. You’d swear he was killing babies, or some other equally abhorrent act. We’ve been reading cries of, “That’s unfair!”, “Illegal*… even legal… immigrants won’t respond out of fear (of reprisal)!”, “If the numbers are skewed House seats would be lost in some states and benefits won’t reach needed people.”, and so on and so on.
Except for the fairness part, that’s probably all true. So what?
Illegal immigrants should be concerned. There should be consequences for flouting our laws. Call me crazy, but that’s what laws are and why we have them to begin with. Am I missing something? I don’t know how to say this any more plainly… they’re… here… illegally. Legal immigrants shouldn’t be concerned, but this is what we get when we allow the situation to get out of control as it has been. The only way to fix that now is to fix the underlying cause which is illegal immigration.
This next one just baffles me. Why are any non-citizens… legal or illegal… even counted to begin with when apportioning House seats? I’m sorry, but there are a few things that should be reserved solely for citizens only. Direct government representation and voting are a couple. Not even legal non-citizen residents should be included in House apportionment. That this even needs to be said is mind-boggling to me.
Are undocumented residents (aliens) in the 50 states included in the apportionment population counts? Census FAQ
Yes, all people (citizens and noncitizens) with a usual residence in the 50 states are to be included in the census and thus in the apportionment counts.
No one will say they favor open borders in so many words, but if you walk like a duck and quack like a duck, you’re a duck. You really do favor open borders, whether you use the phrasing or not. You don’t want a country, you want an administrative apparatus to manage programs. Is nothing reserved for citizens? Does citizenship have any benefit anymore? If not, then why are we play-acting at having a nation? We should admit it and stop the charade now.
As I alluded to above, I have no doubt that the current conservative and Republican political apparatus wants to freeze out illegal (probably even legal) immigrants. Harass them, make them a proverbial ‘boogeyman’, all that. I don’t doubt that one bit. But again, so what? An individual’s or group’s boneheaded partisan motivation doesn’t necessarily undermine the underlying correctness of the action. Our government has a bottom-line obligation… a responsibility!… to effectively manage and protect its borders. It is not unreasonable for a nation to know where the people within its borders are from and how they got there.
I detest Mr Trump, but he’s correct on this issue, albeit by accident.
*-I refuse to use the term ‘undocumented’. The term is an insidious euphemistic strategy to deflect the true scenario. We need to be simple and clear in our wording, and that starts right here. People here without approval are here illegally. Be an adult and say so. (Also, please note that where “undocumented’ is used, it’s in a quote, not from me.)
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