One last issue of illegal immigrants is when they travel over the border, and have their children here, those children immediately become citizens of the US. Therefore, when they are found out and taken to trial to be forced back to their native country, they use the argument of the face that their children are here. They are therefore put in a tough position; to either take their children back to poverty or leave them here without their parents. Though this is a terrible thing to have to decide, the face that they were illegally is a difficult thing to oversee.
However, if the illegal immigrants were not taking these jobs than perhaps more American citizens would be either forced to take them, or the employers would be forced to raise the salary in order for attract employees from this country. Also, health care is a well known issue in not only America, but almost any country. The illegal immigrants crowd our emergency rooms looking for free basic health care because they know they can not be turned away. However, they do not have the insurance and therefore they lack the ability to pay. This costs tax payers, Americans who do pay their insurance, and they end up paying for this “free” health care. Most of us are willing to do this for the citizens of our country, however, that is one thing. Taking care of the people who are not allowed to be here to begin with, though I again wish there was a way for us to do, in place of the people who are waiting for their turn who legally live in America, is already unfair to the people living in poverty in the US.
Although I understand the point of business decisions determining how many immigrants are let into the country, I do not support illegal immigration. There are many issues that would cause me to not want to break the law as a born American citizen in helping people enter the country who are not authorized to do so. To begin with, I feel we have enough of our own problems in the US, and we need to deal with these first before we let a significant amount of people into the US. It is not that I do not have sympathy for people who face hard crimes of violence in their native countries, but I also know that helping the less fortunate people who are living in our country is already a very difficult task. Another concern pertaining to this issue is the jobs that illegal immigrants take from Americans. These people are willing to do the more menial, lower paying jobs, that many Americans shy away from.
Shortly after 9/11, he received a call from his family who remained in the country, asking him to express their condolences and sorrow for what had happened to so many families across the US. They asked him to please explain that the visuals we were seeing on TV of people celebrating was not how the majority felt, and that they would have never wished any of this on anyone. This goes to show that not everyone is “evil,” but rather it is impossible to truly see all perspectives and gain an understanding.
Just as children from the early 1900’s grew up learning to “hate” people because of the color of their skin or how they grew up, the children of extremists learned to view Americans as the enemy. Now, they see us coming into their country and, if not for our own benefit, they wonder why else we could possibly be destroying their towns and, in unfortunate circumstances, killing their people. Americans grow up having almost anything they can ask for. Although it’s obviously much easier for some to succeed in this country than for others, the opportunities are immense compared to other less fortunate countries. I don’t want to take it so far as to say these terrorists and extremists are “brainwashed,” but rather they grew up only seeing the negativity that our country seems to have to offer. From another standpoint, I worked in a Middle Eastern restaurant where the owner was from Jordan.
Yes I find it heart breaking and angering, but the people who committed this awful act grew up and experienced a life very different from the American victims. Though I am not at all a religious person, I have spent my life trying very hard to understand what it is about certain beliefs that can compel people to do such unimaginable things. There is no doubt that this class changed many people’s opinions on what is going on with the war, although it is impossible to escape all negative feelings of terrorism. Throughout life I have met many different kinds of people with many different backgrounds and seen how it affects decisions they make later in life. Although comparing the life of a terrorist growing up in the Middle East to a peer of mine growing up with a difficult family in a poor neighborhood is a big stretch, I feel it is in a way similar on a much smaller scale.
Unfortunately, because of the tragic events that have occurred in our lifetime, our generation has grown up in an era where terrorism is a prevalent and constantly talked about topic. Although I was only 10 years of age when the horrific tragedy occurred of September 11th occurred, it is no secret that I, along with my peers, remember everything about that day. As I grew up and learned more about issues regarding government, religion, and terrorism, I found myself looking back to what happened and trying to pick a stand point on the issue. As a rehabilitation major and, hopefully, and sociology minor, I find it very difficult to blame anyone for what occurred.
Obviously money too can help long term but food supply for a day is not the answer. This money needs to go other places such as building businesses and rebuilding homes that have fallen apart. It needs to go to other simple things such as transportation and skill training so that once the aide of our country is able to step out of the picture, these people are ready to work on their own and earn a living for themselves. No one wants to remain a charity case for the rest of their lifetime, and if all the money is going to food this is what the outcome will be. These pictures, though they catch the viewer’s eye and attention, aren’t showing the real picture of what needs to be done. It is human nature to live in the moment and attempt to fix a problem temporarily right then and there, and this is the instinct that goes off in people when they see these children in need. However, we can’t do this forever and things need to be thought out in order to help these people on a longer time line.
Not only do these poor children need help, but so do the rest of their families which include the adults in their lives that need to be strong enough and able to raise and take care of them. Also, though these donations may give a family or two food and possibly other necessities such as clothing, etc, in the long run this will not highly benefit them. The parents of these children need a steady income in order to continue to raise and care for their children into adulthood. This requires a lot more than a couple donations a year. People need to actually get involved by helping to rebuild Haiti and find a way to help these people use their talents and abilities to obtain jobs that will allow them to feed and clothe their families themselves.
I was unfortunately unable to attend the lecture regarding this matter, however, as I read over some of the responses from other students and acquired the general idea of what was discussed I am torn between the uses of these images to influence Americans. For the most part, I disagree with these pictures and feel it exploits the children and does not address what these countries, such as Haiti, really need to help them get back on their feet. However, it is the sad truth that many Americans are ignorant to the facts of what is going on in other parts of the world and these commercials and pictures are sometimes the only things to capture their attention, whether it is right or wrong. When it comes down to it though, there has to be better ways to sending this information to Americans in order to encourage them to donate not only some of their money, but time and effort as well.
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