Yes, I do sometimes listen to Glenn Beck.

So this morning, I was driving in to work and listening to Glenn Beck.  He wasn't on today though and he had a substitute.

According to the guy, the reason he works Labor Day is because it's his mini-protest to Labor Day.  He started talking about the history of it and said it's actually a holiday for socialism and unions.

Then he started in on illegal imigration.

Now I'm not really political or anything, but I think I finally have a solid opinion on the illegal imigration debate.  He sort of backed up the idea when he started talking about how Labor Day is a bunch of hooey.  I won't get into it too much, but when if you think about his protest to socialism and unions, I think you'll understand.

Here's my stand on illegal imigration, though.  Being a man of science and still having faith in God, I understand the idea of evolution.  The whole Darwinian concept.  You know, survival of the fittest?  There are millions of Americans all over the US who are looking for work.  A lot of them are real honest hard working people.

But I live in Salinas and of Mexican decent.  I'm gonna tell you the truth as I see it.

FOB's (Fresh Over the Border or Fresh Off the Boat), whether legal or illegal, are the hardest working SOB's you'll EVER meet.  The bust tremendous ass to get the better things for their families and provide for their futures.  They have come to work and they spend money in OUR country.  Yes, they may send some to whatever homeland they come from but the majority of it is spent HERE.

Many have forged documents to allow them to work in the states.  Many are paying into taxes because it's getting pulled out of their paychecks.  Many cannot file taxes because of forged documents so our government is free to keep those excess taxes.

I know I'm missing some more, but those are the main points.  But here is the problem I see.  It's the majority of first generation offspring. I'm including those children who were brought over when they were young enough to become Americanized.

The problem of illegal immigration is not the FOB's.  It's their children.  We see our parents busting their ass in labor oriented jobs.  We tell ourselves there is no way in hell we're are going to break our backs like our parents.  So that leaves a couple of choices.

Choice one, which took me a while to realize, is busting your ass in school.  Learn to use the system to educate yourself and become a productive, respected taxpaying member of society.  Like many of the first generation, I was floating around unsure of what my life was going to be like career-wise.  I puttered around, working menial jobs.  Don't get me wrong, it was a respectable JOB.  But I wasn't furthering myself whatsoever.  I finally got my shit together and earned my AAS, which allowed me to promote in the company I still work for.

Choice two, which is where I really see the problem: Learn to use the system so you get paid to do SHIT!

I have many family members and associates (cannot call them friends and can't distance myself from family, unfortunately) who have taken this route.  The women get preggers and stay single which allows them to draw benefits from the state.  If the baby-daddy is working, they get that money as well and pay for their cell phone which is glued to their head while they are smoking the government sponsored 2 packs a day and maybe even drinking the government sponsored beer.  Oh!  And then when the 1st or the 15th comes around, they have their government sponsored girls-night-out!

The guys work the system another way:  They'll work some type of labor job and get "hurt".  Their back is then shot for the rest of their lives.  Or so it seems because they never go back to work but they still continue to draw disability benefits which keeps them healthy enough to walk around and pick up the monster cooler full of Bud Light and carne asada with one arm while the other has the charcoal briquets.

Fortunately, at least from my experience, there are more of the first generation who have made the first choice.  They have made their parents proud.  One example is a friend who I am very proud to have in my life.  He and his family came to the states illegally when he was about 7 years old.  He struggled in school all the way to high school.  He busted his ass and eventually graduated with the top of his class with AP courses under his belt.

He worked the system to get a higher education.  He went to the local community college and aced his courses and earned his associates degree.  He then applied for citizenship.  While waiting for the whole process of citizenship, he applied and got accepted into UC Berkeley.  He graduated with his Bachelors degree and shortly after became a citizen of the United States of America.

Why can't we all be like him.  I wish I had the dedication he has.  I've worked hard, but I discovered it relatively late in my career.  Why couldn't my eyes have been opened earlier in life.  I don't know.

Illegal immigration.  Hmm.  If more illegals are like my friend, let them come.  We need those kind of people in our country.  They are here to make our society BETTER.  They don't want to drag it down.  They too live in neighborhoods and they want it to thrive.  They make friends with neighbors and look out for one another.

Let them come, the bad seeds will sort themselves out.

Our country first allowed immigrants no questions asked.  Then things changed in the late 1800's. . .  I'm not too sure.  But there were restrictions imposed and people had to change their given name to something more pronounceable to the a American tongue.  But many people thrived at the opportunity for a future.

Instead of bitching about the immigrants, maybe those that are bitching should bust their ass and take back those jobs the immigrants are accused of taking.  Work harder, do it better!

But nobody will. 

At least where I live in the Salad Bowl of the world, there are immigrants working the fields and from what I've seen it's mostly of the Mexican and South American variety of immigrants.  Philipino no longer work the fields much.  They've been given the opportunity to better themselves and I see a LOT of them working in the medical field.  I think down south near the Bakersfield area, you do have them working the orchards and vines.

I'm pretty sure there are some white people still out there working the fields, orchards and vines.  But I can bet you they won't be young.  They'll be of the old-school who believed any job to have is a good job.  Back when I lived on the east side of Salinas, a lot of our neighbors were white.  Most of them used to work the fields when they were younger.  But they made sure their children worked hard and did well in school so that they wouldn't have to do what they did and break their backs.

Sound familiar.

I know this is long-winded and tl;dr, but I felt I had to get this off my chest.  I know I don't have any readers but I always hope someone will accidentally find this blog and be bored enough to read it.

If you happen to be one of them, post a comment.  Agree, disagree . . . it's an opinion and right now the law is the law.  Illegal immigrants are illegal.  I'm going to write the governor and express my opinion on this.  America can't have it both ways.  Complain about the workforce that is doing the job nobody else wants to do.

I know that sounds like a cop-out, but let me ask this:
Given the choice between the unemployment line or working the fields, how many of your friends would choose working the fields?

GD

p.s.
too lazy to check