" 'The new immigration as a class is far less intelligent than the old...Generally speaking, they are actuated in coming by different ideals, for the old immigration came to be a part of the country, while the new, in a large measure, comes with the intention of profiting, in a pecuniary way, by the superior advantages of the new world and then returning to the old country.'
The Dillingham report went on to fault the new immigrants for their lack of assimilation and English skills, constantly contrasting them with earlier generations of immigrants, and urged clampdown on immigration. Sounds familiar, no? That's because the Dillingham report appeared in 1911, and the inassimilable masses at the time were Eastern and Southern Europeans."
Interesting. This came from a book I've been reading off and on called 'Ask a Mexican' by Gustavo Arellano, the son of illegal immigrants who has gone on to make quite a name for himself as 'The Mexican' in a news column of the LA Times. The book itself touches on numerous topics other than immigration, but this jumped out at me.
I did a little outside research and found a copy of the Dillingham Comission Report. It's massive. And very, very interesting. This is not a new issue.
Again, I welcome dialogue. This is a huge issue, and worth talking about nicely, personal rants aside.
2 comments:
Love the Dillingham rept reference. While reading, I somehow thought it was not speaking of illegals from Mexico.
So I just gave a long comment/post in "part duex". Would love to get feedback, esp. with what to do.
I think my biggest "rant" would be "Where is the Church?" in this question? Not pastors, I'm talking you and me! As believers, we are told other than adoring God, there is NOTHING more important than loving our neighbor. And the example Jesus gave when asked 'who is my neighbor' is so telling: those people despised by the establishment (both religious and economic). Guess who that person is in the USA in 2008? (It's not a white man with a well-paying white-color job, I can tell you that now!)
Thank you so much for your commentaries, Brad. This has been an interesting discussion & I'm glad it's taking place. I think we as a nation have bought into the 'patriotism = Christianity' deal and I don't see where that's taught anywhere in Scripture. Of COURSE, we're to respect and pray for our country and its leaders. But I kind of cringe when I see a 'God Bless America' bumper sticker. Not because I have a problem with the notion of God blessing America, but why should God bless America only? Why shouldn't He bless India, Norway, Mongolia, Brazil, and Turkmenistan too?
Also, I think we as a nation have forgotten, what with 'Manifest Destiny' and all, whose land this really is. It's not ours; it belongs to God. It was here long before we were, and barring the Rapture, will be here long after we're dust.
Thanks for the challenge of asking where the church is. If we are going to call ourselves Christians, we are going to have to put our money where our mouth is - myself included - and do a better job loving those deemed unlovable and unworthy. Not just tossing a couple bucks to the guy with the 'Will work for food' sign. I loved your story about the family in the supermarket.
One more thing: Jenny, if you don't mind my asking, what is terrifying to you about immigration? I'm not asking that to 'get in your face'. I ask you because I'm really trying to understand what scares people so much. I'm right smack in the middle of it and I guess it's just not that scary to me. It seems to me that this is one of those things that's far scarier from a distance than close-up, but I would appreciate it if you'd give your perspective.
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