Gene Dammon
The Port Arthur News
PORT NECHES —
We pride ourselves on being a “Nation of Laws.” But if breaking the law is a crime, by definition, should it not be equally criminal to fail to enforce the law? A sin of omission, equal to a sin of commission? It is against the law of The United States of America to enter this country by wading across the Rio Grande. Our government knows it is happening, and chooses to basically ignore it.
Illegal immigration is a hot issue again. You don’t have to guess what it looks like — there are plenty of videos being passed around the Internet these days, showing groups of illegal immigrants running across the “no man’s land,” and walking in single file, through mountains and desert, despoiling our national and state parks with their discarded clothing, their bodily waste, and empty water jugs. A porous border we have, hardly slowing them down. So whose job is it to stop them? And when?
Consider a large ocean liner, full of passengers. They have bought their tickets, found their cabins, have their passports handy, and while a few may have a fear of being on the water, they all trust the Captain to take them their destination safely. The name of the ship is, simply, “State.”
In addition to all the sophisticated systems and documentation available to the captain, there is also a big red switch, under the instrument panel, labeled, “Master Switch!” It closes all doors and portholes below the water line, so the ship will stay afloat. If he ignores this switch long enough, the ship sinks.
This scenario could be repeated for the captain of a jet airliner, the CEO of a corporation, the surgeon in an operating theater, the president of the United States, or any other person in charge of any undertaking in which his actions impact the many people trusting him to do the job in a professional manner. There is always one switch, button, or knob, perhaps painted red, labeled “Do This First!” It represents the sine qua non of executive leadership. Securing our borders is just such a fundamental act.
If the captain of the ocean liner, jet airliner, CEO, surgeon or president does everything else perfectly, but ignores the red switch, he stands a chance of sinking the ship, crashing the plane, bankrupting the corporation, losing the patient, or doing great harm to the country. That makes him a failure, and usually subjects him to at least a board of inquiry. If the omission is on his watch, he is responsible: it is a sin of omission. Border security has been omitted from the President’s agenda.
What the above examples all have in common is that they are all complex systems, requiring vigilance, constant attention, and a dedication to purpose at the highest levels. And they all have a master switch, which must be turned on by the man in charge.
All the major religions of which I am familiar also incorporate these “sins of omission” in their doctrine: “God forgive me for those things I did that I should not have done; and God, forgive me for those things I did not do, that I should have done.”
Our government is another example of a complex system, and a beautiful one at that. Consider the system: a republic — a confederation of states, united under a federal patchwork quilt. To assure that no one element becomes too powerful, to the detriment of the other elements, three limbs of government were established: the executive, the judicial, and the legislative. Thereby, power at the top was separated, and each branch jealously (and rightfully) guards its turf.
Our book of operating procedures is called the constitution, and while it has been amended from time to time, it still stands as an example to the world and a marvel to us, providing a constant reference for each of the three branches of the government. It is not always a convenient reference, when one of the branches seeks more power for itself or to limit the power of another branch.
That may explain why the American people, in their wisdom, have often given control of each branch to people with differing ideological goals. We call groups of such people who have common ideals, “parties.” The men who wrote our operating manuals mostly disliked these groupings into parties, or factions, and made no provision for dealing with them. But they exist because of human nature, and with different parties controlling each branch, we can be assured that the activities of each branch will be closely monitored, by the other party, for any wrongdoing.
While each branch must share in the blame for the current crisis along our southern border, and the accompanying crises in cities throughout our republic, the executive office holder must take the lion’s share of blame, for he is in the best position to change it. Only the President can create a favorable atmosphere for legislators and judges to both secure the border and purge the “illegals,” already here, from our cities. The Master Switch is in his office.
It seems harsh to talk about sending people home who are working here illegally, and it is controversial for peace officers to validating the status of “likely aliens” who are stopped for traffic violations or some other infraction of the law. But we are a nation of laws, and any one of us could be required to answer any question the policeman asks. If we are innocent of any wrongdoing, we have nothing to fear. All countries have some procedure to check credentials when a citizen crosses paths with a policeman. Most are not as friendly as ours. The Hispanic “with papers” should be proud to show them.
The red button in Obama’s office is the activator for securing our borders. There is no more basic function of the chief executive than this: “Secure Our Borders.” It is so obvious and elemental that it seems infantile to verbalize it: “Secure Our Borders.” If he fails to do that, nothing else that he does will rescue his presidency from failure. It didn’t start with him, but he has a chance to make it right, something his predecessors did not do.
If tolerating illegal immigration is, as some say, merely a way for Democrats to increase their voting base, then that would eventually require some form of amnesty for those who are already here. I don’t believe the American people would tolerate that.
Gene Dammon of Port Neches is a contributing writer to the Port Arthur News. His e-mail address is: rdammon@gt.rr.com.
