What Is Our National Purpose?
I was listening to a radio program a couple days ago, which featured a story that arrested my attention and set some gears in motion in my overheated gray matter. For those of you in Rio Linda, California – that’s a brain.
The basic theme of the profile, had to do with the topic of ‘depressed Latina teens’. The narrator told the story of one young woman, whose family was concerned when the teen’s grades in school started slipping, she refused to leave her room to go to school and was withdrawing from the family. As the narrative unwound, listeners learned that this young woman’s parents came here illegally from Mexico, the mother speaks not a word of English and that – I’ll call her Maria, Maria has anxiety issues about her status as an illegal resident of California.
The reporter cited statistics from studies indicating that anxiety and depression is most common among ‘dream’ children and particularly females in the 13 to 19 year old age bracket. I was waiting to hear the expression ‘dreamers’ and an editorial statement advocating immigration reform, but the producers of this show segment steered clear of that. Of course, liberals hearing this story would get that implicit message.
What I began thinking about in reaction to this became the seed of a thought grenade. It was especially prompted by the interview they did with the girl’s mother. Through a translator, the mother complained about how difficult life in America is and compared the simplicity of Mexico, with the complexity and challenges of life in Los Estados Unitos – perhaps more particularly, Mexifornia.
My visceral reaction to this was “how dare you gripe about America? – I didn’t put a gun to your head and drag you across the border – you’re free to leave anytime and don’t let the border fence catch you on your whiny, non-assimilating, illegal trasero on the way out!” That hasn’t changed, but I wanted to start a discussion on this and I’d really like to ask some questions of the Democrat / Liberal / Progressive and RINOs among us. Basically, what is our national purpose and implicit in that – what isn’t our national purpose?
For a lot of people whose minds have been seduced by political correctness, diversity, multi-culturalism, open borders and an uncritical acceptance that we exist as a nation to solve the problems of every other dysfunctional spot on the globe – I think a reset in purpose and perspective is of vital importance. So here are the questions you could confront low information citizens with:
What is America’s purpose as a nation? Start with this question and leave it open ended. I think it might be fascinating to peek into the liberal mind and uncover the constructs behind their worldview. They may be at a loss to come up with a response.
- Is our national purpose to provide a haven for every single human being that desires to migrate here, because of conflict in their home country, poverty, joblessness, crime or simply as a matter of preference?
- Immigration – is it a right or a privilege?
- What do we owe to non-citizens? Food? Shelter? Jobs? Healthcare? If we owe it to them, because they ‘deserve’ it – what are the limits or are there any at all?
- Should we send out the invitation to the world that any and all that wish to come here are welcome? This would require scrapping immigration laws and borders. Are you in favor?
- Do we have unlimited natural, environmental and economic resources to sustain (they love that word) an unlimited number of people who wish to live in America?
- Are we as a nation responsible to repair the unfavorable consequences, anxiety and conflicts that result from the violations of our immigration laws?
- Do you still consider it ‘diversity’, when over 80 percent of the people migrating here – most illegally, are from Central and Latin America? Doesn’t this suggest we should attempt to actively manage and balance the national origin and ethnicity of the inflow of immigrants?
These are questions that the liberal, progressive or Democrat has not really given any critical thought to, because most of them are not critical thinkers. Liberals don’t arrive at their opinions via the careful examination of facts and a logical process that leads to their convictions. It’s more of a matter of the herd mentality and groupthink. That is what leads to the existence of cooperatives such as ‘Journolist’ and ‘Angie’s list’.
When you don’t have to think, you can have your opinions pre-gurgitated and served up to you, saving you the effort of questioning your assumptions. It’s because of this, that I think you will find the people that you ask these questions of, will either be at a loss or they will anticipate how their assumptions are going to lead them into a trap. If the latter is true, you can expect them to try to evade direct answers and attempt to spin the subject in a different direction.
Liberals also, when confronted with the reflection of their fallacies, tend to panic and this is when they revert to the ad hominem response. I call it the ‘debate ender’, which is to say, calling you a ‘Racist’, ‘Bigot’, ‘Nativist’, ‘Xenophobe’. None of these are true debate enders, but to the progressive it is felt that they serve the purpose. This is when you inform them that behaving like a scoundrel only exposes their shallow intellect.
It probably is not necessary to warn you that most often instead of answers to the questions about our national purpose, you will get cliches, slogans and sound bite statements – “Broken Immigration System”, “We’re a nation of Immigrants”, “Immigrants benefit the economy” and “You can’t deport all fill in the number undocumented immigrants.” Any of the above are your opportunity to exercise intellectual martial arts on this liberal.
For example – “Broken Immigration System”? Explain to me how it is broken – in what way? Most of the time they haven’t thought this through and even when they have what they think is a grasp of the narrative they think will meet acceptance – it is usually based on another liberal fairy tale that is equally untethered to reality.
Anyway they go with this, you can easily defeat with a reasoned rebuttal based around the central truth that illegal immigration is unsustainable – crime, non-assimilation, cultural incompatibility, wage degradation, strain on existing social safety net, imported diseases, and inadequate educational aspirations. Put simply, you must argue that we’re importing failure.
This is just one example of how the question of the national purpose can serve to confront the liberal mind with challenges to their pre-conceived assumptions. You could adapt the question to also frame a rejoinder to the neo-con / internationalist concept of America as world’s policeman – as in the instance of the ruling class prescribing military action to opportunistically suit the objectives of multi-national corporations and global investors.
I welcome your thoughts and ideas.
TexasTransplant
September 8, 2013
I believe we were founded (as a nation) to be a light to the world, showing all other nations how great one can be when Blessed by The Lord Christ Jesus. It was only supposed to be that we should show all other nations, that by following the teachings of Christ (and NOT man!) that they could prosper and thrive, just as we had in the past. It is not our job to police the world, nor is it our job to try to save everyone but only to give them an example to live by and offer them the only Savior.
Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the more we do away with God in our nation, the farther is seems that we sink into the pit of hell. The devil is laughing and loving it.
Alexander Ivan Perez
April 16, 2016
To define our national purpose it is important understand our History which is the formation of our colonies and the Initial Declaration of Independence. All men are created equal” hence all have the right for life, liberty and pursue of happiness. (Jefferson) The National purpose is NOT for U. S. government to solve the issues of other countries but to protect the rights of its people.(U.S. citizens)
with the being said this country was founded by oppressed immigrants looking for religious liberty , voice and land freedom from all over the world. That is what makes this country a great power, all United. History do not lie, there are opportunities for all that want to work hard and follow U.S. rules. America is great but if you are a lazy or crying immigrant please go back to your native country.
Sincerely,
Another Mexican immigrant.
cynthiajquinn
September 7, 2013
As usual Richard, well written and thought provoking.
shaka Kalakaboom
September 6, 2013
The goal of every progressive is ‘assimilation’. I’ll make this short and sweet!
You cannot have a NWO with borders. Got it?
Shalom,
Shaka
Richard Cameron
September 6, 2013
oh, be assured that they talk about those borders and what a nuisance they are to their overall purposes, everytime they get together to discuss the ‘gameplan’. These people are patient, up to a point – when they can see things moving in the proper direction – but look what has happened recently. They tried to dial back gun rights and self defense and boom – they got whacked.
They tried to debase our status as citizens by handing citizenship out like boxes of CrackerJack – but, ‘Comprehensive Immigration Reform’ is circling the drain. They got exposed on domestic spying and know that it will be unraveled faster than they could build it.
And now, they had everything set to invade Syria and shovel another $2 Trillion dollars into the fireplace and they are getting their hands spanked. Be prepared for them to possibly come unglued over all these setbacks.
shaka Kalakaboom
September 7, 2013
Unglued? well, pilgrim ( with John Wayne accent) i ain’t putting humpty dumpty back together again. And if anyone tries, I’m gonna send them on a vacation to the middle east, pronto. LOL
shaka Kalakaboom
September 7, 2013
Not only is this about an arrogant self-absorbed President, but it is a diversion. October is rolling around, folks. Obummerscare is about to start kicking in. He wants congress to take their eyes off the ball. Before they can exhale, funding is in place for this train wreck.
He doesn’t give a rats behind about Syria. If he did he would have acted a long time ago. It’s all in the timing folks. It’s a shell game.
He has no strategy( at least he wants you to think so) and, as usual, if the congress gives him the ‘all clear’. He will somehow find it necessary to go full out. He is in bed with the Brotherhood and he wants to take out the barrier ( Assad) to putting the Brother hood(s) in power,
Don’t believe him for a moment that he wouldn’t put boots on the ground. What is he going to say? “OOOps? It’s worse than I thought, sorry folks we got to put boots on the ground?”
How crazy is this! Folks, isn’t it about the choice of weapons? In otherwords its okay to kill them with conventional weapons, but chem and bio is a NO NO?
This whole thing smells to high heaven of something more sinister behind door # 3.
Richard Cameron
September 7, 2013
that’s exactly what it smells like & here’s another scenario, perhaps a companion to yours. Whether Congress agrees or not, he goes ahead and initiates hostilities. Then, come time to do battle on raising the debt ceiling – he’ll say, “Hey, we’ve got American military personnel engaged in a conflict and if you don’t raise the debt ceiling, the troops won’t get the materials and support they need”.
shaka Kalakaboom
September 8, 2013
Well, Mr. Obummer, take the funds you were pumping into the Middle East to arm your bff’s and close their account. NoW, Mr. Oretard you have more than enough for AMERICAN MILITARY!!!!!
Richard Cameron
September 6, 2013
more likely legal Latinos – the odds of illegals being able to read, are pretty slim as most of our imports don’t have enough of an education in their home country to escape illiteracy. But give us enough time here to replicate their success and most of our citizens wont be able to read or comprehend your linked article.
Michael
September 6, 2013
If any illegal or legal Latinos read the column I hope they get to read this too.
http://www.dennisprager.com/columns.aspx?g=dda6cd58-f8ae-4547-972f-5bff70923bf0&url=a_letter_from_a_republican_to_hispanics
cynthiajquinn
September 7, 2013
Michael, that is a great article. Just wish Republicans believed it….all they care about is the almighty vote….just like the liberal Democrats.