National Security, Immigrants, and the Ten Cannots

In this election year, there is no end to the myriad of issues confronting the electorate, but one that has gained a lot of attention recently is the issue of immigration. It is striking how so many have such strong opinions based on so little information. This might be forgiven in the average citizen, but when it is obvious that even the President can’t even be bothered to inform himself of the issues by reading the relevant laws, that is truly disturbing, and sets the stage for rhetoric heavy on emotion, but light on facts.

It would be troubling if this were the only area where our politicians got it wrong, but the fact is, you could look back over the last couple of decades and find that the vast majority of the time, the ‘professional politicians’ get it wrong on just about every issue when the average citizen knows the right answers just by using their own God-given common sense.

The situation in Arizona is particularly troubling because it is one that could have been prevented if the Federal government simply did the job they are bound by law to do. The fact is, it was not politically expedient for either party to try to fix the problem. This might alienate some in the latino community when both sides are desperately pandering for each and every vote they can get. As a result, the situation has been avoided by both sides, but Arizona’s democratic congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick recently (and correctly) pointed out that national security begins with border security.

It is unfortunate that in the midst of this heated debate, it has been lost on everyone involved that we are all immigrants. Unless you can show that you are descended from a Native American tribe, every family came from an immigrant at some point.

The richness and greatness of our country was built on the backs of wave after wave of immigrants coming from the four corner of the earth. There have been significant influxes of people over the past 400 years, first from England, but soon others followed. You can still see large communities based on these waves of newcomers from Ireland (Massachusetts), Germany (Pennsylvania), Cuba (Florida), and many other examples all over the country.

I do not speak as one who has no connection to these immigrants. Years ago I had the pleasure of attending a 4th of July naturalization ceremony at the Seattle Center, where I saw my sister-in-law take the United States Oath of Allegiance, thus becoming a newly-minted citizen. My mother-in-law comes from Manchester England, and her mother came from Ireland. My own maternal grandmother was born in Haarlem (no, not that one, the one in the Netherlands).

I am not now, nor have I ever been against anyone’s right to immigrate to this country legally, but there is a very great danger in what is happening here. When you hear talk of ‘immigration reform’ or ‘amnesty’ for illegal immigrants, you need to understand that it has nothing to do with making a way to citizenship, and everything to do with unlawfully running the most massive democratic voter drive ever seen. The Federal government’s recent lawsuit against the State of Arizona has nothing to do with ensuring justice and compliance with the Constitution; it is setting the stage for a massive fraud against the American people.

Even if this were not a corrupt abuse of the system, I would still be against this not only as a matter of principle, but for the fact that this will cheapen the value of every legal citizen in this country. There is a reason that counterfeit money is illegal. What would happen to the value of the dollar if suddenly people were able to print a seemingly endless supply for themselves? This is exactly what the administration wants to do, and it is only to get voters to keep them in power.

Let me tell you the story of an immigrant born just outside of Hamburg, Germany during the late 19th century.

William John Henry Boetcker was born on July 17, 1873, the third born to a family with three sisters. When he was 8, his father, a foreman in a factory was disabled for life when he was severely beaten by striking workers (don’t even get me started on the unions right now).

As a teenager, Boetcker became an author, working on a collection of puzzles and mind problems. A newspaper described him as Germany’s youngest author, drawing the interest of an American-born woman, who believed he would have to go to America to make something of himself. After he finished high school she gave him enough for fare on a steam ship bound for New York.

A survivor of a stormy crossing aboard the Augusta Victoria (the ship was presumed lost at sea, but arrived 30 days late), the 18-year old made his way inland to attend the Chicago Theological Seminary. He spoke no English, and the professors spoke no German, so they conversed in Latin.

When the Columbian Exposition (the World’s Fair) came to Chicago in 1893, the Pope sent a Cardinal to represent the church. When one of the Cardinal’s bodyguards became ill, an ad was placed to fill the need for a military man who knew how to play the coronet. Boetcker had been a Reserve Lieutenant in the German Army, and he knew how to play, so he answered the ad despite being less than the required height. Nobody else responded, so he got the job.

The first Ferris wheel ever built was at the fair. Boetcker was fond of telling how he got stuck at the top of the wheel, and played “Nearer My God to Thee” on his cornet, giving an indication of his sense of humor.

You may wonder why I would tell his story at a time like this.

After completing his studies at the Bloomfield Seminary in New Jersey, he was ordained in Brooklyn and went on to become a well-known religious leader and (now in english) influential public speaker. An outspoken political conservative, Rev. Boetcker is perhaps best remembered for his authorship of a pamphlet entitled The Ten Cannots, originally published in 1916.

When you go to the polls in just a few short months, I would urge you to look at this list and use it as a guide in deciding whether to vote for a candidate or not. If the person you are considering exhibits any of these patterns in the way they would run their office, you really need to look for a better candidate.

The Ten Cannots

1. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
2. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
3. You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
4. You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
5. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
6. You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
7. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
8. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
9. You cannot build character and courage by destroying men’s initiative and independence.
10. And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

Unfortunately, we have been governed for many years by administrations who, regardless of party, uniformly exhibit each and every one of these characteristics. The very freedoms we enjoy are in jeopardy if we as American citizens fail to live up to our civic duty to properly inform ourselves on who these charlatans are, and what they represent. We ourselves will become guilty of Boetcker’s …

Seven National Crimes

1. I don’t think.
2. I don’t know.
3. I don’t care.
4. I am too busy.
5. I leave well enough alone.
6. I have no time to read and find out.
7. I am not interested.

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