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Friday, November 30, 2007

Praise for the GOP? Could it be?!

Now y'all know that I'm a fairly staunch Democrat. I've never been able to officially vote in a US election, but my heart has voted each November for the past eight years, leaning heavily towards the left.

Of course, in 2008, I will heart-vote (and perhaps influence Richie's "real vote", HA!) democrat without a doubt, but, for the first time in ages, I also feel as though some Republican candidates are pretty solid.

And it was a (for shame!) Republican candidate who made my day yesterday. A Republican candidate who caused me to stop chopping onions in order to turn my attention to the TV and raise my cutting knife, as I exclaimed, "Amen!" A Republican who got me googling to find his quote from Wednesday's debate.

This "how did you do it?" Republican is, if you can believe it, a former Southern Baptist preacher. And a Razorbacks fan. I kid you not. His name is Mike Huckabee.

"In all due respect, we're a better country than to punish children for what their parents did."

Amen!

The topic that led Mr. Hog-fan Huckabee to voice this statement was the introduction of academic scholarships for children of illegal immigrants. He supported a bill in the Arkansas legislature that would allow children of illegal immigrants to access government money for their post-secondary education ONLY IF they met the following criteria: they attended school in the state since they were five years old, they graduated high school with an A average, and they were in the process of applying for citizenship.

Huckabee was being blasted by another Republican candidate for his support of this bill. The response?

"In all due respect, we're a better country than to punish children for what their parents did."

We ARE a better country than that! I may be an optimist extraordinaire, but I truly believe that Americans (if it's okay with y'all, I'll include myself in that mix) believe in the good of people and adhere to the ideology that everyone deserves a chance to pursue their dreams. After all, unless you are of Native American ancestry, YOUR fore parents were illegal American immigrants too. The last time I checked, there were no passports and 1-600 INS documents on the Mayflower.

I also believe that we're a better country than that, because we recognize that the color of your skin, the language you speak, or the country you grew up in, have nothing to do with how much you love your children. In most cases, immigrants, legal or undocumented, come to America for a reason: because they love their children and want to give them the opportunities to succeed and be happy. I would, without a doubt, tromp through a barren desert, risking my life to sunstroke and rattle snakes, if it meant that Ellie would receive better medical care or education. I love her SO MUCH. It's difficult for me to imagine anyone loving their child as much as I love Ellie, but I realize THAT'S what being a parent is about.

There seems to be so much anger boiling in the "illegal immigration issue" pot. I can't help but wonder if we started this debate from the place of a parent (regardless of whether you have children), the anger would subside into concern. I absolutely recognize the problem, and realize that it needs to be addressed. But, the discussions would be much different if undocumented immigrants were referred to as "parents of foreign citizenship who love their children and want to make a better life for them" rather than "THOSE PEOPLE who are causing me to pay so much in taxes that I'll only be able to afford a 36 inch TV this year, instead of the 60 inch flat screen I REALLY wanted".

Our country is better than that.

4 comments:

Sunny said...

My husband loves him but doesn't see much hope in him winning.

The Mitchells said...

We love him and he is a dear friend of our family (and more importantly a beliver that Jesus Christ IS Lord).

I could write a lot about the immigrant issue, but it's not about big screen TVs for some people...we waited in an ER for 14 hours and were told that 75% of the people before us were illegal with no desire to help pay for the medical attention that all of our children deserve. So my tax money paid for their children to see a doctor ahead of my child instead of them sharing the cost so that we can have MORE doctors to see all of our children.

Chrystie said...

Totally see where you're coming from, A!

I guess I would counter with a, "then let's raise taxes so that, no matter what, as you say, ALL OF OUR CHILDREN, may receive proper medical care."

In my experience, comments of "raising taxes" are usually bawked at, because many people believe we're already over-taxed. This is where my "big screen TV" comment comes into play. Why do we feel we're overtaxed? Because we (and I include myself in this) want to keep our money to buy STUFF.

I often have to keep myself in check, and ask, "why do I feel that it's so unfair that other people get MY money?" Because it's not fair that some people are born into a situation where, if there's a drought or a flood, they will starve to death. It's not fair that, if Ellie had been born in rural Mexico, to a poor family, she would receive little to no medical care (so, really, she would have died at birth), and therapy would be unheard of. I have to often remind myself that we are SO SO SO SO SO SO rich, both financially and spiritually, and there's no reason I deserve these blessings over someone else.

* ~ *Jessica* ~ * said...

Just wanted to say GO HOGS!!!!!!!!!!!! (haha) A true Arkansan am I!!!