A lot of people have been quoting Emma Lazarus lately in reaction to Donald Trump’s alleged remark about some of the countries from which immigrants have been arriving here. I don’t think they’ve thought that through. For one thing, are most of today’s immigrants “yearning to breathe free”? Or are they yearning for a raise?
For another thing a shore teeming with wretched refuse isn’t that much different from what President Trump is claimed to have said although you’ve got to admit that it’s more refined.
Trump is boorish. And that’s as far as it goes. I think we all wish it wasn’t so. But he’s straightforward. (I don’t know if he actually said it, and I certainly don’t believe a word a bald faced liar like Dick Durban says. In any event, it wouldn’t surprise for a moment if he did say it.)
But spare us the faux outrage, pols and media. It didn’t take 24 hours for film clips and quotes of the exact same type of quotes came out from Truman through Obama. Show of hands. Who thinks Hillary doesn’t feel that way? This is polical theatre, and now a contorted rationale for the DACA-government shutdown debate. Only the foolish portion of the population, and the media (but I repeat myself), doesn’t see right through this.
Returning to my point about national consensus, I don’t think it’s possible for our national consensus to be completely inclusive. For example, I don’t believe it’s possible to include Islamists in that consensus. I absolutely believe that Islamists have a right to their beliefs—just not here.
Yes, Islamists, or any other identifiable group, don’t necessarily need to be included. Nations have the right to be what they see fit, not the other way around. But all that means in the Islamist example is that there exists a responsibility to assimilate – or leave – that comes with the privilege of immigration. Europe is becoming a basket case because the political class refuses to acknowledge this.
All the above. Many are also fleeing oppression and conflict. Ultimately it’s hard to know for sure since we can’t read their minds.
While we can’t read minds, we can at least expect they will follow our laws and in some cases, e.g. Mennonites, Quakers, the Amish, Santerians, etc there can be exceptions made and who knows they yet teach us the joys of say, cricket or morris dancing.
Any right-thinking society would avoid morris dancing as an unnecessarily aggressive and dangerous activity.
In seriousness genuine Islamists can’t be tolerated in our society since they would consider our government illegitimate and have a conscientious obligation to subordinate minorities if they were to gain a majority. It’s just incompatible with our form of government. I don’t think that all Muslims are necessarily Islamists in that sense although there are people who do.
It’s not a frivolous concern.
But you’re right. Some exceptions can be made. And consensus doesn’t mean “unanimity”.
So Trump was merely using a poetic metaphor when he called them shitholes? What he really meant is that while they may seem like shitholes, they will turn into great countries soon, just as the wretched refuse became our citizens? Boy, I don’t think so. I would bet he just thinks they are shitholes.
“Trump is boorish. And that’s as far as it goes. I think we all wish it wasn’t so. But he’s straightforward. (I don’t know if he actually said it, and I certainly don’t believe a word a bald faced liar like Dick Durban says.”
Trump, and someone else mentioned in a paragraph, really anyone else, and the one you point to as a liar is the other person, not Trump? Thank you for this. Really crappy day and that gave me a good laugh.
Steve
If that’s the way you read The New Colossus it seems a very eccentric reading to me. I think the poem is implicitly critical of the sending countries and approving of the United States. I don’t see the notion of change in a positive direction in the sending countries at all.
I thought the point was praising the US for accepting what other countries might deem refuse and turning them into productive citizens.
Steve
I think that’s far-fetched and out of context. The “wretched refuse” were to be reduced in the American melting pot and turned into something useful. But “melting pot” is very much out of favor as a metaphor for the experience of coming to the United States these days. “Salad bowl”, where everything remains more or less unchanged but adds to the complexity of the dish, is more in favor.
The “salad bowl” metaphor actually supports the views of those like me who think we need an immigration system more like Canada’s or Australia’s. A good salad is constructed; you select well-matched ingredients of high quality. If you throw “refuse” into a salad, it doesn’t improve it.