Immigrant 5: I’m-A-Grunt not a Migrant/Immigrant


 

“I’m A Grunt of Humanity” wandering through the outskirts of the “Social Abyss” seeking a place that would embrace my existence and say, “Welcome Home!”  Yet what happens when suddenly forced out of native homeland (for whatever reason), at every door (sought, found, and knocked upon), one is greeted with “We’re presently busy keeping those that are different in their place.” With family and offspring facing the choice to “survive or perish” one has little options but to seek an underground railroad leading to a place professing a land of milk and honey; a land offering immigrants (permanent) and migrants (temporary) opportunities to invest and be more than what’s been left behind; a  land broadcasting "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" at its gate (The New Colossus)

Thus, although at the initial expense of native inhabitants, its economic dependance on black slavery, its western expansion to become a nation between the Atlantic and Pacific waters using Chinese labor, and its first use of detention centers that legally stripped    Japanese residents of their investments during WWII (e.g. businesses and homes), America was, and is still capable of being the model of democracy for the world to follow: A melting pot of diverse, good hearted citizens coexisting beyond the reach of political agendas favoring a hierarchy of monarchs over fostering individual  sovereignty.

Consider John Locke (1632–1704) who believing in a moral law that governs human behavior, advocated that individuals have inherent natural rights (e.g. life, liberty, and property) that must be respected by society. Emphasizing the importance of how education and environment shapes individuals, he introduced the idea of “Tabula Rasa” suggesting that individuals are born as a blank slate where experiences shape their understanding of the world. Promoting concepts of individual rights and the separation of church and state, he laid the groundwork for modern democracy stating the basis for a legitimate government is a social contract and argued that sovereignty resides with the people, not a monarch.

Locke’s concepts went on to influence psychology, education, political theory and spark radical thinkers like Voltaire (1694-1778, the prominent French philosophic, religious and political thorn of his time who being exiled fearlessly experienced the migrant/immigrant lifestyle firsthand and witnessed much of his extensive writings get  publicly burned) and Abraham Maslow (1908-1970, the American psychologist who regardless of criticism took the word Hierarchy beyond the confines of political monarchies and empirical economic pursuits to outline a motivational theory that categorized five basic human needs). Visit azquotes.com/  and google these three great minds to be inspired by quotes like “Parents wonder why the streams are bitter, when they themselves have poisoned the fountain (J.L.); Those who can be made to believe absurdities can be made to commit atrocities (V); The good or healthy society would then be defined as one that permitted people's highest purposes to emerge by satisfying all their basic needs (A.M.).

Consider how while Washington D.C. has been busy dismantling, or renaming, its historic traditional pillars of democracy, Chicago has embraced them by converting one of its communities, devastated by disinvestments, to erect The Obama Presidential Center honoring our nation’s past accomplishments, present needs, and future aspirations. Visit its website and listen to the Obama’s family inaugurating speeches (Barack and Michelle)  that surgically removed political, socioeconomic and racial finger pointing aside to advocate “We’re all Grunts in the trenches of Humanity” trying to survive the battlefields of progress and not just “Mere Immigrants Without Value” trying to exploit opportunities as free rides.

There’s no getting around it: There is a need to stop building and feeding existing dividing walls that seek compartmentalizing people issues and concerns with labels that foster debates and deny dialog its due. It’s time to start building bridges over the trenches that, like quicksand, wait to suck the ideals of individuals trying to champion a better way to live onto the annals of oblivion. It’s time to get beyond the misdirection of making “Brown” the target of concern while secretly keeping the role of the Monroe Doctrine continuously in play. It’s time to “Circle the Wagons,” and like oxen’s in the African wilderness greeting the predators (seeking to divide, conquer, and devour the concept of “We The People are A Melting Pot”) to declare: We are not just migrants or immigrants to be used and tossed but “Grunts In The Trenches Of Humanity” seeking coexistence with EQUALLY COMMITTED and DEADLY SHARPENED HORNS to contend with.

Meanwhile, frequently visit and check: 

· U.S. Homeland, Immigration & Customs Information site www.ice.gov/

· the ICE Activity Tracker www.iceinmyarea.org/ 

· the ICE Raid and Deportation Tracker deportationtracker.live/

· The Detainee locator = https://locator.ice.gov/odls/#/search

· This link— “Get More Help” will lead you to a wealth of sites offering information, resources, and organizations with videos, talk shows, ongoing rallies, and how ICE presence is being best addressed across the country including keeping detention centers out of your community

· And while people are worried about getting kicked out consider how many are making plans to voluntarily relocate to other countries using assistance sites like Expat Exact https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVlgZnQkkxY

· But most of all—Sit back relax and enjoy a bit of humor along the way with immigration | NEW STANDUP COMEDY from Christopher Titus'

· And George Carlin’s Satirical Solution to Homelessness

· Then consider how this stuff isn't new! Immigration has a long evolving timeline in history worth looking at before deciding to go deeper by visiting this site for details

 


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