Borderline Issues
Breakfast with Bwana
By Anil Madan
It has been observed by people much smarter than I am, that we Americans often deal with serious problems by legalizing the conduct that was hitherto unlawful.
One could argue that this goes all the way back to endorsing insurrection when, in the Declaration of Independence, we endorsed the notion that rebellion against authority was mandatory, indeed even a “right of the people.” The idea was propounded that the people have certain unalienable rights and “that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.”
President Biden and Auntie Kamala. Photo – usnews.com
The move from Prohibition to relatively free advertising of booze on TV—albeit with the Puritan constraint that people could never be shown actually drinking their drinks—or to legalizing Marijuana, to the calls for nullification of sentences for druggies and dealers represent the continuum we set in motion a long time ago. It’s almost like the continuum of the US program to land a man on the moon and to explore space ending up with sending astronauts to the Russkie International Space Station. Perseverance, that’s the American way.
So it is with the situation on the U.S.-Mexico border. For almost two weeks now, President Biden’s Press Secretary Jen Psaki (did you notice that Ps stands for “Press Secretary” and “aki” stands “aki me anything but I may not answer?”) has denied that the crisis on the border is a crisis.
Today, President Biden held his first formal press conference since his inauguration and when asked if there is a crisis on the border, responded: “Well, I question your premise. There is no border.”
Nevertheless, having decided that the way to deal with unlawful immigration is to effectively legalize it, President Biden is now caught up in a maelstrom of blaming Trump for the surge of unaccompanied minors and pleading with AMLO (Andrés Manuel López Obrador) and whoever is in charge in Guatemala, both of whom are so far unable or unwilling to control the flow of immigrants, to become suddenly able and willing to stem the flows. A bit of bribery with shipments of Covid-19 vaccines helps grease the skids so to speak.
But President Biden had a plan. He dispatched Auntie Kamala to handle the situation, i.e., to convince AMLO and the President of Guatemala, that they should keep their problems to themselves and not pass them on to the U.S. where they can cross the border that doesn’t exist.
But another crisis—oops, sorry, it’s not a crisis, just another thing to deal with—has intervened.
President Biden has decided to dispatch Auntie Kamala to try to refloat the moored MV Ever Given Container ship that is blocking the Suez Canal.
When pressed about his reason for picking Auntie Kamala who has no obvious experience in maritime matters, President Biden said “Well, my expectation is that I’m going to run for re-election in 2024 and Kamala is doing a great job so I expect her to be my running mate. Hey man, she floats my boat.”
Auntie Kamala was heard muttering: “Over your dead body.”
It is interesting to contemplate Auntie Kamala’s qualifications for refloating the MS Ever Given. First, one has to admire her spirit. My school’s motto was Never Give In. Heck, Ever Given. It has a ring.
Second, she has natural talents. Her ancestry includes Tamil and Jamaican roots. So as the U.S. was almost headed to Banana Republic status on January 6, one might think of the Banana Boat Song of Harry Belafonte*.
Why is this all important?
Well, I give you an over-under bet. Six months. As the Biden administration admits unaccompanied minors to the utter silence of the media who were screaming about how inhumane it was to separate minors from their parents, we can expect what will happen.
A few years ago, when I wrote that the parents who were sending their kids to the U.S. were themselves separating their own children from their parents, I received a spurt of almost hate mail saying I was insensitive.
But here you have it. History rhymes and sometimes it repeats. Over the years, I have observed that when so-called sophisticated people in the West discount the acumen of those from less privileged countries they forget that no matter where you go in the world (except the U.S.), people can count the value of money in multiple currencies. People learn quickly how to survive. So, it should not be lost on us that illegal immigrants (undocumented visitors, if you like euphemisms) will understand that declaring yourself an unaccompanied minor at the border (er… sorry, the area, since there is no border) will help you find the U.S. willing to legalize hitherto unlawful conduct. Both the Biden administration and the wacko media express surprise at this “sophistication.”
So, back to my bet. Within six months, there will be a cry that all those unaccompanied minors who have been let into the U.S. are being deprived of maternal companionship. And their mothers should be allowed in as well.
Then, it’s a matter of time before they will need fathers and siblings, indeed the whole village. And Hillary Clinton will have proved that it takes a village.
Mercy.
Cheerz…
Bwana
*(79) Harry Belafonte – Banana Boat Song (Day-O) – YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tou8-Cz8is
* Published in print edition on 30 March 2021
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