le Battalion
o PINION
Page 9 • Tuesday, April 20, 1999
^ ^ ^ ’ *
ive me your tired, your poor.
ited States should reopen borders to all
Emigrants, allow economic opportunity
E Bie United States is a na-
hion of immigrants. This
bias always been one of
erica’s main strengths, as it
enabled us to take the best
. b; ightest of other nations
. allow them to use their
ttivity to enrich the United
rh< re is even a certain stat-
nlNew York City dedicated
r
Brendan
GUY
the principle that the United States will welcome
pie from all over the world to its shores. Unfor-
natiely, the generous American spirit of welcom-
g immigrants has been fading throughout much
nocr the 20th century. Instead, Americans now call
it for tight restrictions on immigration. This move
vay from open immigration has been a tragic
ow to the United States both economically and
ilturally.
) Th' re is absolutely no reason to fear immigra-
t )n. Ummigrants have always been a resource to
erica in the past, giving us the needed human
ipital resources to fully develop this country. Why
it,” l ould they not continue to be of value to America
for tlit.i the future?
tor : : The claim that immigrants just want to come to
e Inited States to take advantage of welfare and
;oldit her government services is absurd. The Bureau of
imtx" ibor Statistics reveals that only 12.8 percent of
poin amjgrants use some type of government welfare,
reponr'i compared to 13.9 percent of the native popula-
litois on. This suggests that not only will most immi-
''gt -ants stay off welfare, but they are actually likely
oslavu | be more productive than the native-born popula-
ions on. By their nature, most immigrants are ambi-
' ofK ous, energetic people who want to build better
ledc:-yeslfor themselves and their children,
unpre These are the kind of people we need in Ameri-
* i, people with drive and ambition, people who
bania- -e not afraid to take risks. Despite certain loath-
W jme steps towards the left, the United States is
ill the land of opportunity, not the land of welfare
[hbor- andouts. Immigrants to this country understand
irJet nshnd come to America with the intention of
■orjung to improve themselves, to seize control of
ear 1 icif own destinies.
t mo.v \{ a \\ they wanted was to have a paternalistic
f0 " QV|rnment take carp pf them, they would not be
anting to America, they would be going to a wel-
ire state like Canada or Sweden.
Of course, it is frequently this daring spirit which
causes people to fear immigrants. Another common
argument against immigration is that immigrants
will take jobs away from Americans, an argument
that is just as invalid as the welfare argument. Immi
grants are frequently poorly educated, unskilled la
bor. They are at a severe competitive disadvantage
with native workers. This usually leads to immi
grants being forced into the most menial, miserable
work available (work most American workers would
not want to do in the first place). But by doing this
work (and especially by doing it at low wages), im
migrants end up helping the economy. They pump
more money into the economy through their own
spending and help American companies stay com
petitive against foreign competition by providing a
cheap source of labor.
Also the same daring spirit that brings immi
grants to the United States in the first place can
also help to produce entrepreneurs, which means
immigrants or at least their children frequently end
up founding businesses of their own. The proof for
all of this can be seen by a Cato Institute report,
which studied immigration during the 1980s and
concluded that the states with the highest rates of
immigration also had the highest rates of economic
growth and the lowest rates of unemployment.
This seems to prove that immigrants will not
take away jobs from native Americans, and instead
will actually help make more jobs available.
But despite the obvious economic advantages of
open immigration, some still fear the cultural im
pact. It is a common misconception that immi
grants will come here with their own languages,
customs and religions, resist all attempts at assimi
lation and end up being a source of conflict and
strife.
Benjamin Franklin voiced these very concerns
about German immigration during the early nation
al period. Yet today, German-Americans are the
largest single nationality in this country and have
assimilated beautifully. This charge has also been
raised against every subsequent wave of immi
grants including the Irish, Italians, Jews, Asians or
Hispanics, and it has never been shown to have
any validity.
Of course immigrants are going to want to fol
low their native customs as closely as possible, but
they have never shown any general refusal to obey
the laws and dominant cultural beliefs of the Unit
ed States.
Most immigrants understand that at least some
assimilation is necessary if they want to survive in
the United States and work to fit into American so
ciety while still keeping what is best from their
own culture.
Strength comes from diversity, that is a basic
principle of evolution that can also be applied to
the affairs of nations. Immigrants provide that di
versity to American society, they help to bring new
ideas and approaches to America, and they provide
ROBERT HYNECEK/The Battalion
valuable and usually thankless labor that helps
make the entire country more prosperous. Open
immigration helped make the United States great in
the 19th century, we should return to it if we want
to continue to be great in the 21st century.
Brendan Guy is a senior political science
and history major.
irst Amendment free speech should not be absolute, unlimited
FOOX
i ongress
shall make
'no law ...
bridging the freedom
f speech, or of the
ress...”
| Sound familiar?
To the average
jnerican, freedom of Lisa
peech is a catch-
esuniS-hrase that encom-
asses a variety of ideas. In fact, in a
^ense, freedom of speech could allow
ertain Americans the right to insult, de-
, 'rude, and humiliate the minority.
Freedom of speech should not neces-
^"arily be so all-encompassing.
The First Amendment is indeed al-
-"[lost absolute at this point in time. Not
5o long ago, the Supreme Court granted
imjericans the right to burn the Ameri-
anlflag as of expressing their opinion of
1 he U.S. government.
One of the only big no-no’s in the an-
IESK
nals of American history is to scream
“fire” in a crowded theater. The clause
exists because people may be killed in
the mad stampede to escape the burning
(well — not really burning) building.
This clause in the free speech campaign
is to protect the people.
Well, using that logic, it appears that
freedom of speech should be curtailed a
little more than it is right now.
When people preach hatred and big
otry, racism and absolutism, people can
get hurt, maimed or killed.
How so?
Take for example David Duke, a for
mer Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
He continuously spouts hatred of the mi
norities that live in America. It appears
that he truly believes he has the answer
to solving the country’s problems.
He thinks that if society could just get
rid of the blacks, Jews, Mexicans,
Asians, and homosexuals, all the eco
nomic and social evils would disappear.
Hardly.
But there are people who believe
what he claims, and some of these peo
ple choose to take the law into their own
hands and “take care of the problem.”
People have died as a result of David
Duke’s preaching as surely as if they
were trampled in a crowded theater.
There should be a fine or a punish
ment for David Duke.
Another example: Joseph McCarthy.
The words he chose to say caused a
great deal of harm to many innocent
American citizens and his legacy is a
blot upon the conscience of the Ameri
can government. His moment in the
spotlight did not improve society.
Flag burning, on the other hand, it
something it is necessary to talk about.
There are thousands of people every year
who want to enter this country. They are
desperate to come here and many have
waited years to have the chance to live
in America, where food, clothing and
jobs are available.
So, if someone is so upset with
America they need to burn the flag for
which soldiers have died (in the name of
freedom, no less), these people should
make their voices heard by leaving
America. Legalizing flag burning was a
mistake on the part of the Supreme
Court.
How does all of this relate to Texas
A&M University? Well, somewhere in
the darkened halls of Sterling C. Evans
Library there is a collection of Holocaust
literature. Among the books are a few
that claim the Holocaust never hap
pened. It’s called “negationism” and it is
false. So why are those books in Evans?
Because of the freedom of speech.
In this case, freedom of speech is
harmful. It allows a generation already
unfamiliar with the horror to doubt the
reality of the murder of millions.
Most people who claim that free
speech should be absolute are using a
“marketplace of ideas” theory, where
every addition to discourse adds some
new perspective and some new insights
and therefore, all are worthy of being
heard.
But when voices that promote hatred
and ignorance, and nothing else, are
heard, they drown out the message of
the few pure and more enlightened voic
es.
Mahatma Gandhi would have been
condemned, if not killed, by the Ku Klux
Klan.
There is never a reason to allow the
minority to not to be hearc — - ;ept
when the minority is so strident, so hate
ful, that people can get hurt. There
should be punishments for those who in
fringe on other people’s right to exist
peaceably. Even if that means an abridg
ment of the First Amendment.
Lisa Foox is a senior
journalism major.
MAIL CALL
Malcolm X, writer
ESK 7
^appear uninformed
r In response to Christian Robbins’
ipr. 16 opinion column.
Robbins’ comments concerning
/lalcolm X in general, and white
•erception of blacks and Malcolm X
1 particular, are hyperbolic and
:■ Hdlessly incendiary. Malcolm X is
widely and soundly criticized, in
Kt, because of his separatist po-
I lions.
Instead of a personified melting
m as our forefathers, both black
, ind white envisioned, X would have
us live in the same country, yet
[in iteract only with each other if ab
solutely necessary.
iFrom her precariously estab-
gned pulpit, Robbins segues into
mown disenchanted viewpoints.
,,, lobbins would have us believe that
l* 1 even today African-Americans do
■ have the human rights guaran-
eed them under the law.”
^ It must strike Robbins as amaz-
wj ||that the only human rights viola-
r ions reported in today’s newspaper
those occurring in Kosovo. Ap-
^ferently there is substance to the
“shadow government” conspiracy
theory. It would also be enlighten
ing to discover which school it was
that turned down any student with
a 4.0 GPA and a 1600 SAT score.
To insinuate that “the success
of the African-American community
in such a short time collectively
scares Caucasian America” is
stereotypical and highly insulting.
This professes the same igno
rance as would a white person who
believes that all blacks are thieving
gang members. The search on this
campus for this mysterious "some
one” who thinks that Rodney King
was not the recipient of excessive
force would also be a revelation.
Please try to keep the ambiguity
and ignorance out of your forthcom
ing articles.
Bart Fehr
Class of ’00
Mail Call proves
hostility on campus
In response to Ronnie Kirschner’s
April 19 mail call.
Ronnie Kirschner’s ranting and
raving about Ricky Wood's election
as yell leader is a prime example
of the hostility that does in fact
between some members of the
Corps of Cadets and the non-reg
student body here at A&M.
Kirschner claims he has many
friends who are not in the Corps
of Cadets. My first question is,
would you be as upset if one of
those friends ran for yell leader
and made it?
Yes, the position of yell leader
was started by the Corps, howev
er, so were every one of the tradi
tions we hold sacred here at A&M.
And, like the position of yell
leader, those traditions have grad
ually become a part of every stu
dent’s life here at this school.
My second question is do you
get this riled up when a student
who is not in the Corps wildcats or
stands up to sing the Fight Song?
I would hope not.
The non-reg population of stu
dents now makes up the majority
of people on this campus today,
without that population the Univer
sity would still be an all-male mili
tary training program, not the
world-class University that it is.
My last question is that if you
feel the position of yell leader
should be reserved for the Corps,
why don’t you spend all of your
hostile energy on trying to remove
it from the student body elections
ballot and have only the Corps
make those decisions?
Albert Atkins
Class of ’01
Most Christians
not offensive, pushy
In response to David Lee’s Apr.
19 opinion column.
In your article, you state that
students of this university should
n’t “push their beliefs onto oth
ers,” however, you seem to single
out Christians as the biggest of
fenders.
True, Christ instructs Christians
to “go therefore and make disci
ples of all nations... teaching
them to observe all things that I
have commanded you” (Matt.
28:19-20).
However, you must realize that
every time that anyone declares
their opinion, they are expecting
people to listen and somehow
change their way of life from what
they hear. The only difference be
tween what you have said and the
truth is that the recipient of the
message is always given the op
tion to not listen or change.
I have been a Christian all of
my life, and yet I have never at
tempted to pester another person
into believing what I do, and I have
never witnessed any other Christ
ian do so.
I have handed out tracts, writ
ten pro-Christian articles, and par
ticipated in Christian events. How
ever, this is no more “forcing” my
opinions on them as the student
government candidates who gave
out fliers, set up Web pages and
held rallies did.
Even if we did aggressively try
to force "our slant of Christianity”
down someone’s throat, it would
be worthless. People are rarely
converted from one religion to an
other by simply hearing about it.
However, if we can demonstrate
to others, by our attitudes and ac
tions, that our religion gives us
something unique, perhaps they
would consider becoming a Christ
ian.
Rather than attack and incense
the entirety of the Christian com
munity, why not discuss your feel
ings with that minority of Chris
tians who have aggressively tried
to force their beliefs on you? In
stead of turning around and forc
ing your opinion down their throat,
just say you aren’t interested.
No one can stop you from not
hearing.
Jonathan L. Deonarine,
Class of ’02
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