American exceptionalism

The other day my wife asked me, "What are the Minutemen?" So I explained that they are a volunteer organization that watches the Mexican-American border and reports illegals entering the US to the Border Patrol. I added that the name of the organization is, perhaps unfortunately, the same as that of a proto-"militia" group that existed for a while in the 60s but that this bunch is going out of their way to avoid a vigilante image. They never go armed for example.

"So why do you ask?" Because she saw an news program about them which derided them as a bunch of racist nuts.

We also saw that an indignant Mexico is thinking about taking the case of the proposed border fence to the UN.

What I'm wondering about is, does anybody see how seriously nutty this fuss is? Every country in the world, without exception, regards their right to control their own borders as a given. Heck, it just about defines what a country is!

Mind you, this is entirely separate from the issue of what you think immigration policy ought to be. My wife is a Polish citizen and her best friends here are Mexican and Kenyan, who are in my humble opinion the kind of people who will make fine Americans.

America, it seems, has to be the exception. According to some, we have no right to ask anyone about their right to be here. Nor do we ask if the policy of their country of origin is reciprocal. Can I just waltz into Mexico, settle down, get a job etc without permission and documentation? (Do I really have to answer that one? OK, the answer is No Way! Furthermore, a foreigner cannot buy real estate outright but only 99 year leases last I looked.)

Reminds me of a conversation I had almost twenty years ago with an Anthro grad student. This fellow was looking for some previously unblamed White folks to indict and came up with the Swedes. "Everybody thinks they're so wonderful and tolerant, but look how they treat the Gypsies!"

"Well," said I, "in a country where people in small towns still habitually leave their doors and windows open to air the house when they go somewhere, they tend to get upset when bands of petty thieves come through."

"How can you say that! How can you call them thieves?"

"Uh, I don't know, give me a hint. Is it because they take things that don't belong to them?"

"Well that's just their culture."

"I realize that, and in our culture we lock people who do that up. The Gypsies understand that, why don't you? And do you know how Gypsies treat their own who steal from other Gypsies? They exile them for life. So why is it that every culture is allowed to defend their ways - except us?"

I thought that was a fair question. I'm still waiting for an answer.