Borders

Well, we are a bit over a week into the transition period of mr. Trump. The signs are good, mr. Trump seems to have grown politically in the election process, and we might just get something positive out of this, after all.

Let me clear about one thing; I think we should think about ourselves first and foremost. We need to build a better party. Secondly however, the nation is in such a crisis, that we need to examine the need of the nation and not on our own needs only. We need to cooperate, and find a way out of this mess.

One thing that is discussed right now, is the repatriation of all the illegal migrants in the south.

Well, this is really dangerous water to swim in political terms, so I won’t take any sides in this. Just remind people, that this is an issue we need to solve had it been a democratic or a republican president. It is getting out of hand. The crime rate is already too high, and unemployment is getting out of hand.

What can we do? Well first of all, let us just be clear about one thing. Having a border is a natural thing. Not having a border is the unnatural thing. A nation needs a border to control its territory. A border can be many different things. It can be an ideological border, a cultural border, and even in some case a raceborder.

I am not arguing for anything of the above, just pointing out the obvious.

What is the United States of America? It is a Republic. That is, it is a democratic, humanistic, civil construction with certain values and ideological principles to guide it. It is what is, simply written, in the National Anthem, constitution, the words of the founding fathers and so on. “Give me liberty or give me death”, as they said.

What defines a citizen in a Republic? According to Aristotle, one of the main philosophers behind a democratic construct, it is defined by two things. 1. The adherence to the law. 2. The adherence to the democratic process.

In other words, if you hate democracy, and wishes to follow another law than the republican, you are no longer a citizen.

Aristotle continues. If a polis (at the time of Aristotle they had city states not nations) needs new citizens, it should do so with the interest of the polis in mind. Usually it is because the city lacks new citizens.

These are the basic rules of citizen control.

Now there is such a thing as identity, as was the point of the British Brexit discussion. Identity is much broader than the discussion on citizenship, and this can open up for some additional demands for a citizenship. What you put into this box, is very different.

But these are the basic rules you can use in your discussion.

I do, however recommend, that we handle this crisis in a humane way. We are talking about people, and they are not allowed in the country if they break the law (rule number one of Aristotle) but we still need to treat them with dignity.

G-d bless the willingness to do the right thing, in a difficult situation.

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