A History of Immigration

I read a lot of blogs focusing on a wide variety of issues. I read a pro-choice blog, an anti-conservative blog, and anti-racist blog, an anti-tea bagger blog, etc. Mainly they are just ways to pass the time when I'm not busy, ways to have a good laugh. More and more frequently, however, reading these blogs has become very disturbing, for a number of reasons. First, the amount of suggested violence on the part of the "bigots," "right-wingers," "anti-choicers," "tea partiers," etc. is very unsettling. Though I have never seen a "liberal" (or rather a "non-vitriolic conservative") suggest violence on or against anyone, I am sure it has happened. It alarms me that we as a country have apparently completely polarized ourselves. Either we are extreme liberals or extreme conservatives, there can be no middle ground. To me it reeks of civil war, which I am sure many conservatives would be pleased with (go ahead, Texas and Virginia, break away from the Union). When I think of the modern two-party system in America, I have visions of a World War I battlefield, with trenches dug on either side of a muddied field, with decapitated trees and lifeless grass laying immobile surrounded by the rigid bodies of young people sent far from their homes to defend an intangible cause.

It truly scares me, to know that there are people in this very country who feel enough hatred of gays, liberals, pro-choicers, non-Christians, non-whites, etc. that they would put their lives on the line. Often in the name of Christ.

It's really terrifying, if you think about it. I want to move to Canada so badly some times, but the process of becoming a Canadian citizen (while easier than becoming an American citizen) is daunting, and only if you have a job offer or a family member petitioning for you can you begin the citizenship process. I looked into going to seminary in Canada, but the Lutheran Church of Canada only ordains males and is one of the few Canadian organizations that openly does not acknowledge the Canadian ruling to allow same-sex marriage. As someone who is strongly considering seminary post-undergraduate graduation, and unwilling to switch denominations, it seems as though a move to Canada is out of the question.

Thinking of these things got my blood boiling regarding immigration in the United States. The other day I read an article about a young illegal alien who, driving drunk, killed a nun and injured two others. The nuns' order is ashamed that the killing of this nun by this young man has caused such a political debate surrounding immigration. The young man had MANY infractions against his driving record, he had driven drunk many times and it was not his first drunk driving accident. In 2008 a judge was set to rule at the closing of his deportation hearings, but the ruling has apparently been in limbo for the past two years, as he has not been deported. We religious folk are commanded to be forgiving (hard as it is almost all of the time), and certainly those three nuns would forgive this young man, if they could, though they would also likely want him to pay for his crimes (grant under Caeser what is Caeser's, after all). But the fact that he is an illegal immigrant complicates the situation, to the extreme.

So I got to thinking, aren't we all technically illegal immigrants, besides 100% Native Americans? If you look back on the history of this hemisphere, North, Central and South America have always been populated by native peoples. During the shifting of the continents the native people were separated and lived nomadic lifestyles of hunting, gathering, fishing and worshipping. While in Europe, the Middle East and Asia technology began to rapidly expand (as a result of all of those civilizations being so close together), the indiginous peoples of the Americas survived and thrived in their own ways. In Central and South America the Aztecs and Mayans flourished, creating technology that to this day is neither understood nor appreciated. Spain, in its lust for gold, conquered South and Central America, under the guise of wanting to "Christianize" the heathens they murdered them with disease, raped them and diluted their gene pools, made them slaves, sent them back to Europe to be palace pets for the King and Queen, etc. Much earlier, in the far north of present day Canada, Vikings began exploring the American north-east. To this day there is a native tribe in Northern Canada that bears the lasting effects of the Vikings (recessive blonde hair and blue eyes), though the Vikings ostensibly did not rape and pillage these people but rather integrated themselves with the already existing culture.

England and France, feeling that Spain should not be the sole benefactor of America's gold-rich soil, sent ships to what is today North America. The clash with the Natives in North America was not as violent at first as it was with the Spanish, who more of less destroyed everything in their path. In present day Canada the tribes were preserved by their ability to move across the snow and ice, leaving the settlers without access to their villages, hunting grounds, etc (at least for a short while). The United States, though, was perfect for building, colonizing, stealing resources and land. These "explorers" were no more than murderers, killing anyone or anything that got in their way. Never once did they pass a security check point, where they were forced to present proof of citizenship, or even a passport. No one questioned their authority or identity.

Today if you are driving along the highways of Utah, Arizona or Nevada you will likely see the remanents of the rape and pillage of the American Indian. One room cement and mud shanties, with tin roofs and a dusty yard. Alcoholism, casinos, drug use, a much much much higher statistic for the number of women and girls raped, almost rampant illegal activity, all as a result of "illegal immigration." When someone with brown skin attempts to cross the border into the modern day United States, they might be shot, or deported, or they might live for a few years in their new country, then fall victim to drugs or alcohol and kill a nun. Not many years ago, this was not the United States, Mexico was not Mexico, and Canada was not Canada. There were no borders, besides tribal borders. Individuals were bound to their tribes and their peoples. With the "illegal immigrants" from England, France and Spain came a lack of respect for brown skin, a lack of appreciate for neighbourly love and respect and a complete lack of concern for the sanctity of human life.

Catching Up

I haven't blogged in a long time, so I'm gonna.

Summer is going by EXTREMELY fast, hence the lack of blogging. I was offered three jobs at the beginning of the summer, but then I found out that I got an independent study in Cambridge next year and my honors thesis proposal for the English department was accepted, so I declined one of the jobs so that I could work on getting ready for both of those things. Needless to say, I'm poor, but I'm not unhappy. And if and when I get into graduate school next year, I will be even more poor. So it goes.

So much has happened since I last blogged! I went to the conference for my church, and it was really really awesome I had a wonderful time. Lots of worship, food, time to hang out with my pastor, voting on resolutions (including a resolution to denounce the Arizona immigration initiative).

I turned 21 on June 12. It's not as much fun as it's cracked up to be, but I LOVE being able to buy myself alcohol when I go to the grocery store or the liquor store. In college when you're under 21 you're pretty limited to Bud Lite (if you're lucky) or Mich lite (if you're even luckier), but there are so many more varities to choose from. I'm becoming a beer snob. If you're ever in the Massachusetts area try Wachusett Mountain Blueberry beer, so good.

I'm house sitting for one of my employers while she is on vacation for a month, and she has a pool so it's pretty freakin sweet. She's a really wonderful person on top of having a pool and a yard (I miss having outdoor space, so it's amazing for me to be able to go to her house and just hang out outside), I'm really lucky that she found me and we get along.

We went to see Dave Matthews a few days before my birthday, the concert was really good actually. I thought Dave might suck live, for some reason, but he was really good. Boyd Tinsley, however, Dave's violinist, definitely stole the show. I'd go straight for Boyd, what a looker.

Last weekend was my family reunion weekend, which got ever the complicated by the fact that Hillary and I were going to see Brandi Carlile at the Casino Ballroom in Hampton, NH Friday night, the reunion was Saturday in the Catskills in NY (and my whole family was there from Friday to Sunday at the campground), and we were going to see Lilith Fair in Hartford on Sunday. Brandi was awesome, per usual (if you ever have the chance to see Brandi live, do it!), but we ended up leaving NH around 11 pm, and we drove straight to NY and ended up pulling into the camp site around 4:30 in the morning. We woke up Saturday around 11 and did the reunion thing, which was a lot of fun as it always is (it just always goes by so quickly). Sunday morning we left around 10 am or so and drove to my house in CT, got there around 1 and had to turn around and grab some lunch and head over to the Meadows in Hartford.

I'm going to be real for a second and say that I was a might bit disappointed in Lilith Fair. I guess I just always had this perception that it would be this amazing eye opening chick rock experience, and to an extent it was but on a SUPER small scale. When I think chick rock I think Brandi Carlile, Indigo Girls, Alanis Morisette, Sarah McLachlan, Sinead O'Connor, Sheryl Crowe, Tegan and Sara, the Dixie Chicks, Ani Difranco, Cyndi Lauper, to name a VERY few. As much as Ingrid Michaelson, Cat Power and Sarah Barellis were good (Cat Power to a lesser extent), they don't strike me as timeless the way any and all of the aforementioned artists do. In any event, the Indigo Girls were fantastic live, everything I hoped for and so much more. Sarah McLachlan kind of disappointed me, I won't lie, and 'Ice Cream' almost made up for it, but not really. She just didn't sound the way I expected she would, whereas the Indigo Girls were up there singing dancing and playing their instruments like they were standing in a recording studio.

I'm pleased with my summer, and hopefully I will be in the right frame of mind to blog more frequently between now and September, since I fear that I will drop off the face of the Earth come the beginning of my senior year (I can't f**king believe it).

Hope everyone out there enjoyed June, July and has a very lovely August!