I feel as if the recent immigration crisis has not only thrust upon the United States a myriad of new children to parent but it has also compelled numerous Republicans and Democrats to behave equally as child-like. No doubt, neither party is speaking the same language for certain - increasing the irony underscoring this entire mess exponentially. Lots of chatter and energy being exerted but little communication actually arising from all of it.
Needless-to-say, I can't help but be reminded of the old question I've posed to my own kids many a times during moments of contention and impasse, "Do you want to be right or do you want to fix the issue?" That phrase usually marked the beginning of a turn for the better... that or my insistence that all of them remain in the same room until resolution was found. Maybe President Obama should consider using those tactics as well. Certainly, the value of his pen and phone will further escalate given he and the rest of the Republican and Democratic parties find themselves locked away - devoid of food, water, or facilities - until they begin working together to actually solve the problem and run this country in the manner we, U.S. citizens, undoubtedly deserve.
Both sides have valid points with undeniable realities that result from their divergent positions. Equally as real is the future of the foundation of which we built this country - which currently hangs in the loop. Lest we forget that we were all immigrants once. I, daresay, sending 60,000 little kids back to countries they fled for very good reasons is extremely hard for me to stomach. But so are the hardships placed upon our own kids, teachers, and school administrators who are already struggling to keep up with the continually expanding ELL population demands placed upon our school systems at present.
With little to no financial resources to speak of and similar professional support to lean on, teachers are barely capable of answering our children's academic needs now and our current PISA (Program for International School Assessment) scores attest to this truth. Thirty-ninth place is nothing to write home about... not even using President Obama's pen. But thirty-ninth is exactly where we are, currently, and we will be lucky to stay there given we don't get a handle on our massive education issues, which is now being coupled with overwhelming immigration issues.
That said, where I can find many reasons to house the innocent immigrant children that have crossed our borders to date; I don't feel the same about their parents nor the many other adult immigrants that continue to ignore our laws and show up on our doorstep. Breaking laws and compromising the safety of children doesn't ingratiate these individuals to me to show mercy in any regard. Theirs is a selfishness worth an immediate bus ticket home in my opinion. You don't reward bad behavior with freedom, especially in this case as that freedom will only invite further bad behavior - both internally and externally.
As we have long been known as the greatest country in the world, might we look upon the many reasons we've monopolized that title and begin working towards living up to it again. Today, we have more children than ever before relying upon us for solution and future. I implore Democrats, Republicans and our president to put their personal, professional, and political agendas aside and unite in doing what's best for this country... one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all!
Let's try to use our heads and demonstrate strong character as our nation and the rest of the world looks on in judgment. The importance of doing so at such a critical juncture cannot be stressed. There's enough fighting going on around us. We needn't add to it by doing so amongst ourselves - rather set an example that cautions against it prior to having to meet it with equal force in the form of unnecessary lost lives and increased global turmoil.
It's time we get back to work, ladies and gentlemen, and do the jobs we've elected you to do in the way we've elected you to do them.