By Jim Heffernan
I have mild lumbar spinal stenosis that doesn’t bother me at all as long as I’m sitting down. If I walk about 150 feet without a shopping cart or rollator to hang onto, my back begs me to sit down. Likewise, if I stand up for more than 3 minutes I hear the same message. I’m always looking for the next place to sit.
I’ve ended up spending time on the benches at Freddy’s. I think last summer’s book, “The Power of Strangers” changed me. I like to talk to strangers. I like to lead with the question, “What worries you about the upcoming elections?”. More often than not, it leads to a conversation. Sometimes we’re in agreement about our fears, sometimes we have an entirely different set of fears.
It always seems to reveal that deep down we all want the same things.
I’m starting this series, “Heard on the Bench”, to relate what I hear and to research the conclusions a stranger and I toss back and forth.
I’m finding that immigration is high on the list of the things that worry people. Some people see it as a fearful menace.
I see immigration as a positive force for progress throughout our history. Seven of my eight great-grandparents came to this country in the mid 19th Century. One came from a line that came here in 17th Century. I still believe in the last lines of the Emma Lazarus poem that is on a plaque on the Statue of Liberty,
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Last week, I met a man who was very, very worried about immigration. He was convinced that a large proportion of those who are crossing our border illegally are terrorists. He also truly believed states like Oregon and California who have automatic voter registration at DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) were granting voter registration to non-citizens.
It all ended like it usually does, him with the views shaped by his news and I with the views shaped by mine. I happen to believe that I’m in a better bubble, but, like anybody, I could be wrong.
As far as us being flooded by terrorists coming over the border, I see no evidence. All the mass shootings that we are plagued with seem to originate from native born citizens. It appears their motivations usually spring from some dark corner of the fevered social media swamp.
What are the hordes of terrorists flooding over the border waiting for, the zombie apocalypse?
I checked with the DMV web site and the identification required for driver’s licenses includes a state-certified birth certificate, a social security number, and proof of residence. None of these are available to people who sneak in illegally.
As always, discussion is welcome at codger817@gmail.com.