It is said that the United States is a nation of immigrants. No it isn’t, most Americans were born here. It’s true that we all have ancestors that were immigrants, but that would apply to people living in almost any nation. Even the ancestors of the Native Americans came from someplace else.
Those first people didn’t come to see Niagara Falls and then decided: what a great place, let’s stay. At the time they came Niagara Falls hadn’t been built yet.
By the time the Europeans arrived the New World was only new to them, millions of people already lived here. Spread over two continents, one North, one South, it is estimated that there were as many people as lived in Europe at the time.
To the natives, the Europeans were fascinating; what with their ivory skin, strange clothing, religions and peculiar languages. Most of all there were the toys, they had several neat toys. On-the-other-hand they were a bit pushy. Too pushy, it became an invasion. The native people were unable to control their borders; they lost their homes, their cultures and their way of life.
Christoper Columbus is not celebrated among those nations. That symbol of welcome in New York’s harbor, the image of Lady Liberty is not the image of a Native American woman.
Over the recent centuries the majority of America’s immigrants came to escape famine, wars, poverty, religious or political persecution. For the most part, these people were no better or worse than the natives. Some had been expelled from prisons or poorhouses, others were brought here by force to be slaves.
America was a rough place with a lot of hostility. I suppose in that sense not much different than anywhere else. A solid foundation was laid, but labor was needed to continue the construction, so, its’ borders were fairly open.
Today, I’m aware of no country that has completely open borders. If you can’t control your borders you’ll eventually lose control of your nation. Some think that would be good, instead of individual nations we should all be united in a sort of Star Trek Federation.
If evil were eliminated then there could be a universal federation of Good such as described in the Book of Revelation. Until then it might be wise to keep the borders.
Today, there are two ways you can attempt to gain permanent residence in the United States; you can do so legally or illegally. Those who respect our laws and culture often make better Americans than those who were born here.
Perhaps we could arrange a trade, exchange immigrants that truly want to be American for those Americans that don’t.
God Loves Danica Collins 