An interesting take on the immigration debate.

In listening to and reading the debate about the Arizona immigration law, and the immigration debate in general, I've come to a realization. The debate unearths (not that it was very well buried) some of the worst things about our society, but also the best. Despite the definitive downward spiral we've been on economically, politically and otherwise in the past 3+ years, people still view America as the most desirable place to which to escape their current lives. People are willing to give up everything they have where they are in order to start with nothing here.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying - illegal immigration is illegal for a reason! It's no less wrong because of the nice things it says about us. As narcissistic as our country tends to be (or, at least, tends to be portrayed), we oughtn't allow people to break our laws (which exist for good reason, and the alternative method of entry isn't entirely inaccessible - more on that later), even if the breaking of those laws says something nice about us. And, Arizona is completely within its right to make something that is already illegal, illegal. Their law doesn't supercede or alter federal law - in fact, it is less strict for the aggressor, and more restrictive to the enforcer (but you wouldn't know that if your information comes from the people talking about it... who haven't read it... like most of President Obama's cabinet). We need to enforce our laws. Perhaps (maybe "perhaps" is too weak a term) we need to make it easier to enter legally, but the difficulty of immigrating legally is no reason to break the current laws.

But, that doesn't change the fact that the majority of people looking to escape their current country would choose ours. It's because ours is a land of opportunity. It's because ours is a land of freedom, of wealth, of the ability to make for yourself a life that you wish to have - normally without fear of government reprisal or confiscation (to a certain point). It almost makes you shift your paradigm when it comes to our current status as a country.

Don't get me wrong, we're still struggling - but less so than pretty much everyone else. We aren't all that we can be - but we're still better than everyone else (and have been for quite a while). We have to make progress (in a "moving forward" sense, not in a "let's destroy wealth and follow fancy pseudo-scientific ideas about phenomena that aren't actually happening and pay higher taxes if you work harder so you can support all of the lazy asses who are 26, living at home and using their parents insurance - thanks for that, BTW, BHO!).

But, we are still that shining city on a hill. Despite the fact that some of that shining is from the ever dimming torches of the liberals showing up on the doorsteps of Wall Street execs, or the ever brightening torches of the Tea Party activists who are outraged at the radical expansion of government and villification of wealth, we are still the "gold standard" in terms of countries. We are still what everyone wants to be, we are still the society of which everyone wants to be a part.

No other experiment in history has so fully succeeded in balancing personal freedom with civility - so much so that the individual citizens can be so outraged that they take to the streets and, generally with amazing civility, protest their government. And, in no other country can we, the people, assuage our fears and criticisms in knowing that the chance to change the course is but a few months away before the next election. Others around the world can only DREAM of a country where their voices matter in any capacity.

Despite our disgusting, vile and seemingly inhuman politicians who largely represent the worst of us, our people are enviable. Our standards are enviable. Our freedoms are enviable. Our lifestyles are enviable. Our prosperity (even now) is enviable. Despite all of the problems, the ugliness, the disagreements, the scandals, the nepotism and all of the other vices in our government and our society, we are still the envy of the world.

If nothing else, we ought to celebrate this. God truly has blessed America.