Adam's Apple
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- Apr 25, 2004
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Lessons From World History?
By Doug Edelman, The Conservative Voice
March 11, 2007
While considering the illegal immigration situation on our southern border, I was struck by an unnerving parallel to another nation's history.
There is a nation which was colonized by Europeans in the 18th and 19th centuries with sparse indigenous population and which prospered and grew into great and modern metropoli. They imported slaves initially, who were later freed. They experienced the growing pains of civil war, and of skirmishes with indigenous tribes over territory as the colonies expanded. In the 20th Century, this nation had become a world class country. It was modern, self-sufficient, had thriving agriculture, and industry, and was blessed with abundant natural resources.
Nearby populations of neighboring nations began migrating to this nation for economic opportunity. They were welcomed and exploited as cheap labor, while remaining unassimilated. (Is all this sounding familiar?)
In the later days of the 20th century, these immigrants and their children outnumbered the decendants of the European settlers. While the political power was still in the hands of the Euros, it was eroding in the face of the shifting population. By the end of the 20th century, the power had fully shifted to the non-Europeans that had originally migrated in as cheap labor and the Europeans were all but ousted from the country!
The nation of which I speak is South Africa. First settled by the Dutch and soon after by the English a wilderness was transformed into a modern nation. Out of necessity, they traded with the neighboring Khoikhoi the indigenous tribes populating the nearby land however the relationship was tenuous at best. To provide labor, they imported slaves from Madagascar & India. The Dutch and English settlers battled each other. They expanded north and east, and this triggered skirmishes with the Khoikhoi, who succumbed to superior weaponry and European diseases to which they had no immunity. In the end, the surviving Khoikhoi either settled further north, or worked for the Europeans in an exploitive relationship.
While there is much we can criticize white South Africa for there are lessons to be learned from their experience!
As South Africa thrived, it became a magnet for Africans of neighboring lands seeking economic opportunity, and as a haven for refugees fleeing tribal warfare or despotic regimes further north. White South Africans maintained strict separation from these black immigrants and established them as a codified underclass. Their numbers grew and the white establishment was significantly outnumbered. Their policy of Apartheid the forced segregation between the races brought scorn upon white South Africa and added pressure from the world community, which ultimately contributed to the overthrow of white control of the nation they founded, and turning South Africa over to the majority black population. There is an argument to be made that this has not worked out to the benefit of the population (black OR white) of South Africa.
It is interesting to note, however that these blacks are NOT the indigenous people displaced by the European colonists of the 18th and 19th centuries. They are the decendents of black African immigrants from other territories north and east of South Africa. Very few members of South Africas black population can claim any ancestry from the Khoikhoi.
Today, the US is dealing with an illegal influx of immigrants across our southern border. They come seeking economic opportunity. They work cheap. Our agricultural and industrial corporations exploit this cheap labor. They are not assimilating but we must accommodate them with bilingualism. Amongst the illegals there is a movement of Reconquista. This should not be taken lightly! We have seen a nation fall to its immigrant population before!
American employers must wake up and recognize that the deferred costs of this cheap labor supply far outweigh the quickly realized gains. Our political leaders must get the stones necessary to stand up and truly secure our borders.
America is a welcoming nation. Immigrants of all stripes are encouraged to come, assimilate, and participate in the great melting pot of opportunity that is America. But they must come LEGALLY. They must LEARN to speak ENGLISH. They must live PEACIBLY and lawfully. They must pay their taxes, provide for their families and not become a burden on our already struggling social welfare system. We must stop making excuses for illegal immigrants. We must stop providing them incentives to come illegally. We must risk the ire of those who seek to profit from the low wages paid to illegal labor and begin to truly secure our borders.
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/23393.html
By Doug Edelman, The Conservative Voice
March 11, 2007
While considering the illegal immigration situation on our southern border, I was struck by an unnerving parallel to another nation's history.
There is a nation which was colonized by Europeans in the 18th and 19th centuries with sparse indigenous population and which prospered and grew into great and modern metropoli. They imported slaves initially, who were later freed. They experienced the growing pains of civil war, and of skirmishes with indigenous tribes over territory as the colonies expanded. In the 20th Century, this nation had become a world class country. It was modern, self-sufficient, had thriving agriculture, and industry, and was blessed with abundant natural resources.
Nearby populations of neighboring nations began migrating to this nation for economic opportunity. They were welcomed and exploited as cheap labor, while remaining unassimilated. (Is all this sounding familiar?)
In the later days of the 20th century, these immigrants and their children outnumbered the decendants of the European settlers. While the political power was still in the hands of the Euros, it was eroding in the face of the shifting population. By the end of the 20th century, the power had fully shifted to the non-Europeans that had originally migrated in as cheap labor and the Europeans were all but ousted from the country!
The nation of which I speak is South Africa. First settled by the Dutch and soon after by the English a wilderness was transformed into a modern nation. Out of necessity, they traded with the neighboring Khoikhoi the indigenous tribes populating the nearby land however the relationship was tenuous at best. To provide labor, they imported slaves from Madagascar & India. The Dutch and English settlers battled each other. They expanded north and east, and this triggered skirmishes with the Khoikhoi, who succumbed to superior weaponry and European diseases to which they had no immunity. In the end, the surviving Khoikhoi either settled further north, or worked for the Europeans in an exploitive relationship.
While there is much we can criticize white South Africa for there are lessons to be learned from their experience!
As South Africa thrived, it became a magnet for Africans of neighboring lands seeking economic opportunity, and as a haven for refugees fleeing tribal warfare or despotic regimes further north. White South Africans maintained strict separation from these black immigrants and established them as a codified underclass. Their numbers grew and the white establishment was significantly outnumbered. Their policy of Apartheid the forced segregation between the races brought scorn upon white South Africa and added pressure from the world community, which ultimately contributed to the overthrow of white control of the nation they founded, and turning South Africa over to the majority black population. There is an argument to be made that this has not worked out to the benefit of the population (black OR white) of South Africa.
It is interesting to note, however that these blacks are NOT the indigenous people displaced by the European colonists of the 18th and 19th centuries. They are the decendents of black African immigrants from other territories north and east of South Africa. Very few members of South Africas black population can claim any ancestry from the Khoikhoi.
Today, the US is dealing with an illegal influx of immigrants across our southern border. They come seeking economic opportunity. They work cheap. Our agricultural and industrial corporations exploit this cheap labor. They are not assimilating but we must accommodate them with bilingualism. Amongst the illegals there is a movement of Reconquista. This should not be taken lightly! We have seen a nation fall to its immigrant population before!
American employers must wake up and recognize that the deferred costs of this cheap labor supply far outweigh the quickly realized gains. Our political leaders must get the stones necessary to stand up and truly secure our borders.
America is a welcoming nation. Immigrants of all stripes are encouraged to come, assimilate, and participate in the great melting pot of opportunity that is America. But they must come LEGALLY. They must LEARN to speak ENGLISH. They must live PEACIBLY and lawfully. They must pay their taxes, provide for their families and not become a burden on our already struggling social welfare system. We must stop making excuses for illegal immigrants. We must stop providing them incentives to come illegally. We must risk the ire of those who seek to profit from the low wages paid to illegal labor and begin to truly secure our borders.
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/23393.html
