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Seven: Borders Are Mean

There are nearly five billion people in the world who live in countries poorer than Mexico. It can safely be assumed that many of those billions—like many Mexicans—would love to come to the United States in search of higher consumption levels, i.e., in search of a "better life."

Some Americans think that would be a great thing. But everybody else thinks it would be a terrible disaster. A 1998 Roper Poll found that only six percent of Americans think we don't have enough people in the country.

Since this is a democracy, subjective questions like how many people should be in the United States are best decided by the majority, and since the people have not yet voted the borders out of existence, we have to operate from the position that our country still has them.

One of the characteristics of borders is that it divides the human race into those within the borders and those outside—just like the door to your apartment divides the human race into those within your apartment, and those on the outside. Borders, like doors and locks, are exclusionary by nature.

In the modern age, of course, this seems like a great sin, since a primary modern virtue is "inclusion." We moderns have a difficult time saying "us" and "them."

It goes against our modern sensibilities to say to someone born in Switzerland or Bangladesh, "I'm sorry. You are excluded." To us, it seems "mean."

But it is not mean. It is realistic and necessary and prudent.

Keep in mind one thing: our country is already taking in far more immigrants every year than any other country in the world. This extremely high rate of immigration is causing our nation to undergo massive changes—changes the majority of the people of this country don't even want.

Yet for all the people we are taking in, we are still taking in only a little more than one percent of the births-over-deaths population growth of the world. If we are going to be "compassionate" to all the foreigners of the world and dismiss the best interests of our own people, what about that other 99 percent?

Again, it is not mean to control our borders. It is necessary and realistic.

What is mean is leaving our children a country twice as populated as we found it for no good reason other than that we were too lazy, or too cringing, or too greedy, or too benighted, to defend our borders.

Reason #6
"Immigrants built this country."