Tree Surfing

Sorry it took so long to write this post, but never-the-less, here’s my own personal opinion on illegal immigration. Those of you who took the time to read some of my information from yesterday’s post may already have formed your own opinion.

Personally I’m all for letting anyone have their shot at the American dream. Where you were born should have no effect on how far you can go in life. Sadly there are those who believe that we should keep everyone out who isn’t American because they will “taint” our country. Never mind the fact that nearly every American is the descendant of immigrants! Rather than attempt to argue this point, and for the sake of brevity; I will apply my “Rule of Morons” and simply say: “You lazy selfish bastards.”

Now that we’ve gotten the issue of legal immigration out of the way we’ll talk specifically about Illegal Immigrants. First off let me say that if I were in their shoes I would be doing the same thing. Imagine you’re the provider in your family and you can make 10 times the money across the boarder. The difference between staying in Mexico or working in the US is the difference of a better life for your family, if nothing else, a good chance that your family won’t go hungry. Just like the Taco Bell slogan I’d be running for the border every chance I had.

This isn’t to say that I condone, or approve of illegal immigration, just that I don’t blame them. Look at all the paperwork required to become a legal resident, it’s worst than taxes! File form X, and Y, then do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around, and if you have a solid handle on government paperwork and lawyer speak you too can become a citizen!

Do illegal immigrants cause problems, sure some do. It’s especially noticeable in the border states. I don’t envy the problems those taxpayers have to deal with. However, the notion that all illegal immigrants are freeloaders, “dirty”, and or criminals is very misguided. My view is arguably different living in central Wisconsin as opposed to southern California, but I still have a valid perspective on the mater.

My wife grew up in the San Fernando valley and her godmother is a legal immigrant. She has been greatly influenced by Hispanic/Mexican culture. I grew up on a dairy farm. Many of the farmers have begun hiring Mexicans, legally and “illegally” way up here in Wisconsin. There simply is a lack of Americans willing to do farm work, and other menial labor for that matter. We are a nation of TV’s and couches.

Are the immigrants taking away jobs from “true-blooded” Americans: In some regions Yes, in the MAJORITY of the country NO, I don’t believe so. Feel free to argue otherwise. If you’ve lost your job to an illegal immigrant I would love to hear it.

This post is already growing quite long so I will try to sum up my main points.

1. I would prefer if all immigrants were legal, but I’m not waste my time trying to chase them back. I say if they’re here, and they’ve managed to find a job, let them work. Competition is supposed to be good for everyone in the long run.

2. Are illegal immigrants a problem… In the Southwest, I’d have to say Yes. For the majority of America, I don’t believe so. What’s the solution? I don’t know. Sorry but I’m not God, I don’t have all the answers.
* I think all of the stupid single mothers on Welfare, are a bigger problem to me than illegal immigration.

3. The government is incompetent. It seems they can’t do anything effectively. (Oh boy another topic to post on!) I personally know illegal immigrants that have gotten a driver’s license and rent homes. If the government is really on the ball how is this possible? Especially with all the worry about terrorists?

How can someone who doesn’t speak English and has never lived in the US get a driver’s license?
Makes you wonder who we should really be worrying about.

I saw a recent survey that only 6% of Americans READ blogs. Of course this is a little questionable, but I think that it’s at least somewhat reliable. Perhaps many of your friends have blogs, maybe a lot of your family members do… It MUST be more than 6% right?

I’ll see maybe 100 people, for more than 30 seconds in the average day: I live in a medium sized Midwestern town. If I take a walk down the street or go to a store and really start looking at people who will I see? 100 bloggers…10 bloggers… even one blogger? I work a blue collar job, the dull menial warehouse labor kind, I’d be surprised if there were more than one or two bloggers out of the several hundred people employed there. The self-published author who works with me had never even HEARD of blogs until I told him, and he didn’t seem that interested.

It’s mind boggling: The notion that the world at large is even bigger and less connected than you originally thought. When I started blogging I was amazed at how many nice, interesting, and like-minded people I was able to connect with. I was sure that blogging was the wave of the future, and soon the entire world would be woven into an intricate fabric of internet communication. This may one day be true, but not today, and not tomorrow.

Those of us who are writers and bloggers often forget the recent trend of abandoning books as entertainment; of not learning or using proper grammar and writing skills; of lower and lower test scores in schools. It’s easy it get excited and optimistic while encased in the protective bubble of the blog sphere.

We should be optimistic, but we can’t forget that the bulk of the world does not blog, does not read regularly, and does not care about our interests or goals. This is important for the young blogging communities such as the Writers Blog Alliance, to remember. The potential is huge, but the market is smaller than you imagine it to be. You aren’t selling yourselves to the world, you’re selling yourselves to other bloggers: To other bloggers who share the same interests. It’s not a bad thing, just something to keep in mind.

Now that your blogging bubble has popped how can you go on living?
Realize that the number of blogs continues to grow, especially among the younger generations.
Get more of your friends and family to start blogging.
Keep blogging yourself, remember to focus on friendly, quality posts.
Continue to read, comment, and link to the blogs of others, the more we interwoven we become the stronger blogging becomes. Links are power in the blog sphere.

Some more blogging Information for you Consideration:
The Blogging Iceberg
The Blogging Geyser

Last night while I was at work I was thinking. (How’s that for a really bad opening sentence?) I was pondering the friends versus family concept. I’m sure you’ve all heard the quote: ” You can choose your friends: but you can’t choose your family.” (And the more amusing little boy humor: “You can pick your nose, but you shouldn’t pick your friend’s nose.”)

I grew up in a wonderful family. Like all families we had our good and bad moments. However, I think that overall, I was a very lucky kid. My parents weren’t alcoholics, or druggies; they didn’t beat me; they always showed interest in what I did, and even when I made choices that they didn’t approve of, they stood behind me. Not to mention just simply feeding, educating, and guiding my path into life.

In high school and college I made a lot of interesting friends. I loved my family but I had grown tired of them and yearned for something new, more interesting. People with whom I could freely express myself and not have to worry about what they would think.

George Burns: “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.”

At one time I fully agree with George on this one. In fact until quite recently I’ve not really had the desire to live anywhere near my family. (Side effect of spending the first few months of marriage living upstairs perhaps?) After 2+ years of being married, working a blue collar job, and with another kid on the way: my perspective has shifted.

I’ve had some truly wonderful friends in my short life. There have been a multitude of people that I wish I could have hung out more with, but I’ve been blessed with a couple really close friends. The sort of friends who help you bury bodies.

One’s friends are that part of the human race with which one can be human.
George Santayana

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.
C. S. Lewis

But when things really get tough, its your family that will take you in. If I loose my job, or my wife dies, or any other number of truly terrible things happens; it will be my family that carries me through. True my friends will still be there, and my really close ones will also help out, but it will be my family that takes the bulk of the load.

Even my best friends, as dedicated, and well-intentioned as they are, simply don’t have the means or ability to say: adopt my kids if I die, or give my family a roof if I’m unemployed. Even your best friends forget about you when you’ve moved farther away, but your family will always be calling your house, or try and stop by for a visit.

A good family is one of the most valuable things you can have. It’s another one of those intangible riches that you can’t just find, or buy in a store. This spring I’m moving back near my tiny hometown, to work on the farm again, and take some time to raise my kids in the country while my family graciously allows me even more time to figure out just what it is I want out of life. The scary part is, even after all my wanderlust, and complaining about how crazy my family: I’m looking forward to it!

George Moore: “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it.”

As I’ve mentioned before there is a war waging as we speak. It is not the war on terror, the war on drugs, nor the war of Shampoo verses Conditioner. This war goes back to the beginnings of recorded time. The War on Morons. One of the greatest rules that should be followed in any good war is “Know Thy Enemy.” Let’s define our enemies so we may clearly understand how to weaken and destroy them.

Knowledge of the Enemy
A moron is a very foolish and stupid person, not because of a lack of knowledge, but because of an utter refusal to learn and reason. The lack of knowledge means one is ignorant. The arrogant refusal to admit that another’s opinion may be right, and the refusal to adjust one’s own beliefs accordingly makes someone a moron.

To further put this in perspective, the dictionary also lists and older, and now outdated use of the world moron. “A retarded person mentally equal to a child between eight and twelve years old.” This is not the age of all morons but a indication of how they act. Children in the upper stages of middle school have a tendency to be quite hostile to one another. This is also a defining characteristic of the majority of morons. Rude, insulting, and holding no respect or regard for the opinions of others, especially if they hold differing opinions.

In this age the moron’s blatant incompetence has a wider reach than in earlier eras. The dawn of the internet age has presented these people a tool to sow their stupidity far from where they live. This medium is the Internet Forum. Originally created for open discussion and presentation of different topics, it’s good intentions have fallen victim to the guile of the morons. Granted this degradation cannot be solely blamed on the moron. Their vices exist in each and every one of us and we hold some responsibility in these events as well.

There are dark forces in the world and they continually effect everything around us. It’s hard to imagine a creature more deplorable than the moron, but they do exist and they are called trolls. Like the creatures from fantasy trolls are ugly, disfigured creatures whose sole purpose is to spread chaos and hatred everywhere they tread. There is no known method to convert trolls back into their original human form. Total destruction is the only effective cure.

“It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man by argument.”
~ William G. McAdoo

The Bloody Battles
Any rational human would think that one could simply talk the morons down. With a demonstration of superior reasoning and intelligence one would assume the morons would admit their errors and either adjust their arguments or simply bow out of the conversation. However if you’ve ever participated in any number of internet forums or message boards you know that the morons of the world are impervious to all forms of logic, reasoning, and most importantly common sense.

It seems that the only dependable results come from using their own weapons against them, namely insults, name calling, and bitter disrespect towards those with differing views. However, by simply stooping to the morons level without sufficient support you drop from illustrious intellectual to arrogant ass in no time flat. (Holy Alliteration Batman!)

While a united group can successfully blast any moron off of a forum, this rarely is a long term solution. True the individual may be gone from your presence but he still lurks in the background, more bitter, more resentful, and deeper set into his path as a moron. Also you risk turning into something as bad if not worse than a moron. An arrogant, mean, opinionated jerk. You must always consider the possibility, however slight that the moron may have some valid point in their ranting’s. By simply assaulting their opinion you are no better than the moron. Any subject that sends you into a blind rage could also indicate your own moronic status. It’s never pleasant to attack another’s statement only to find out later that they were in the right and you were the misguided moron.

To simplify things even further think from the point of view of an objective outside observer who knows nothing about the topic you and the moron are battling over. If both you and the moron have resorted to insults, and slander the outside observer, knowing nothing else would not be able to tell which of you was the real moron.

It is also important to remember, just because someone is a moron that does not automatically make them wrong. And just because you may not act in a moronic fashion does not make you right.

**Note: For Trolls abandon all hopes of reeducation and start a campaign of total annihilation.

Achieving Total Victory
How then are we to proceed? What are our weapons? There are several things missing in these battles/conversations that could turn the tide. Respect, Patience and Tact. Moronic traits exist in all of us, and we must fight to keep those traits under control.

By showing respect, and having a kind gentle manner you too can tame all but the largest moronic beast. Like gentle music soothes so too can respectful discussion open up the morons hard outer shell and make them more readily accept differing views.

Patience is needed to stave off the moron inside ourselves that longs to leap at the throat of the insulting person. Don’t forget that the anonymity of the internet leads can lead to a sense of lack of consequences.

Tact is related to Respect and Patience in that it is the least offensive way to say something. Not that we should strive to never offend, but some people, namely morons, are extremely sensitive and can misinterpret even the best intentions as a personal attack.

However when all else fails, forget everything else and just bombard the moron (aka evil troll) with logic, followed by a barrage of clever insults and use your administrative power to banish them to the dark depths of the internet (or another suitable hellish plain of existence).

Moronic traits exist in all of us, and we must fight to keep those traits under control. We must also fight to destroy, or at least tame these traits in others. I will update this page as I come across better explanations and tactics in the future. Your suggestions are welcome.