Monday , August 18, 2008
There is so much going on in McAllen and the Valley it’s really easy to lose sight of things that are important.
Family is important.
Community is, too.
We all want to be happy, healthy, productive. We want to make a difference. No matter what we do for a living, in my mind it’s important to leave the world a better place than when we found it.
Can we make that kind of impact on a global scale? Probably very few of us will have that opportunity. But right here, and right now, we do have the chance to make the Valley a better place to live and prosper.
The wall between Mexico and the Valley is now a step closer to reality. Think about it. Is this really the legacy we want to leave for our children and their children? Do we want them to remember that we were so afraid of Muslims and Mexicans that we built a wall to keep them out? Imagine how the soldiers who fought against Germany in World War II must feel about this wall.
And what about our family and friends on the other side of that wall? How will they feel? I wouldn’t want to have to explain it to them! What if terrorists come across from Canada? Oh, wait, they did! What about Cuba?
Where do we draw the line?
And what about the health, happiness and productivity of the other creatures on God’s planet? How will the ocelots and jaguarondi survive if they can’t get to their water source? How will the birds and the insects they eat live if we tear away their habitat? No one knows what happens if a few links in the chain of life are removed. It’s possible that all will be well, and that we’ll never miss them.
But what if we’re wrong about that?
It would, perhaps, be another matter if there were no other alternatives to remaining safe from terrorists. But more Border Patrol agents and more electronic surveillance equipment would unquestionably by more effective and less destructive to our environment, to our relationship with Mexico, and to our reputation in the world.