November 23, 2017
FROM THE THANKSGIVING ARCHIVES: TEAR DOWN THIS WALL:
Thanksgiving for immigrants (Marvin Olasky, November 19, 2002, Townhall)Let's look at the four major types of anti-immigration arguments.Type one criticizes not the immigrants themselves but a culture no longer committed to helping them assimilate. [...]
Type two arguments emphasize homeland security. [...]
Type three arguments that favor restricting immigration to limit population growth are not as strong. [...]
Type four anti-immigration arguments are really anti-immigrant arguments. We don't want those people, some conservatives say or suggest: They're not our kind. Among the murmurs: They're not used to democratic government, so they'll be easy prey for potential dictators. They're used to big government, so they'll vote for Democrats. They'll undermine America's Christian traditions. [...]
Conservatives should pay more attention to surveys showing that three-fourths of Latinos, compared to 60 percent of Americans overall, say that religion (almost always Christianity) provides considerable guidance in their lives. Korean-Americans are 10 times more likely to be Christian than Buddhist, and other immigrants from Asia also often have Christian backgrounds.
We need to tend carefully to the concerns that underlie "type one" but then let them come. (originally posted: November 19, 2002)
Posted by oj at November 23, 2017 12:00 AM
The problem is that one of our two major political parties is explicitly against assimilation, which therefore makes "type one" concerns more pressing than you allow, because they in turn make the "type four" concerns about voting for Democrats particularly valid. "Type two" concerns are gone once we start dealing with Arabs the way Israel does (heavy profiling.)
Posted by: JW at November 19, 2002 1:53 PMI think I said we need to tend to type one.
Posted by: oj at November 19, 2002 2:02 PMYes, I suppose I was looking for a stronger verb than "tend to." Something like "eviscerate utterly." :)
Posted by: JW at November 19, 2002 2:36 PMMr. Judd;
What is the real difference between (1) and (4)? Does not the idea of assimilation in (1) imply that immigrants are in some way "not our kind"? If not, what is to assimilate? Is the difference that (1) presumes that the immigrants can become "our kind" while (4) does not?
Unloop.
Posted by: oj at November 24, 2005 8:36 AM
Type five arguments blend legal and illegal immigration issues to muddy the issue.
Posted by: ruprecht at November 19, 2002 1:43 PM