It was 38 years ago today that Jim McKay, the award-winning ABC sportscaster, had the solemn duty of informing the world of the awful outcome to the hostage crisis that had stolen the world's attention from the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich. In his unscripted remarks, McKay said, "When I was a kid my father used to say 'Our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized.'"
Showing posts with label Immigration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Immigration. Show all posts
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Wrestling with the Immigration Debate
The recently enacted anti-illegal immigration law in Arizona, which for the first time empowers law enforcement authorities to investigate an individual's citizenship status based on the "reasonable suspicion" standard, has been a lightning rod in the immigration debate. For two weeks now, this law has attracted the support of a majority of Americans but triggered large-scale protests by vocal opponents in major cities nationwide.
It would be tempting to think of this intense debate as something unique to the travails of 21st century America, but the truth is that we have a long tradition in our public discourse of being conflicted as a people when it comes to how we manage immigration. There may be no better metaphor for this conflict than to review the writings on this subject from the most brilliant American political thinker of all time, who just so happened to be the author of our founding document.
It would be tempting to think of this intense debate as something unique to the travails of 21st century America, but the truth is that we have a long tradition in our public discourse of being conflicted as a people when it comes to how we manage immigration. There may be no better metaphor for this conflict than to review the writings on this subject from the most brilliant American political thinker of all time, who just so happened to be the author of our founding document.
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