Immigration.
Boy, talk about a word that conjurers up a ton of emotions.
On the one hand, we have stories of “Irish Need Not Apply”. On the other, heroic remembrances of a time gone by when determined folks would walk off a ship with barely a nickel to their name. And die rich.
And now…well, now we have newscasts of drug runners, cartels and coyotes. Fences and tunnels, arms deals and drug wars.
Ugly stuff this. To be sure.
But when the drama and the histrionics have past and we have boiled away all that isn’t really truly important, what are we left with? To me, in it’s simplest form, we are left with one single human being wanting to make a better life for himself. His family.
We are left with that most American story of boots and straps and pull. We cheer for the individualist. We build a culture that applauds that individual. And rewards him with adoration and, perhaps, wealth.
To me, that’s the American Dream.