Protection of the States

Article IV, Section 4 of the United States Constitution states:

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.

On Friday, April 23, 2010, Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona signed into state law the toughest illegal alien law in the nation and was immediately berated by President Obama for doing so. The state of Arizona, acting well within its rights as a sovereign state, took action to control its borders and protect its citizens from invasion and domestic violence caused by illegal aliens from Mexico. For a state to take such action is shocking, not because it was done, but because the Federal Government failed to carry out its Constitutional responsibilities.

What is wrong with the United States Government when it cannot or will not act even when, by its own admission, it has tolerated millions of Mexicans who have illegally entered the United States? There have been many answers to that question, but none are acceptable. We have been told we need cheap labor, that we need people to do work Americans will not do, that it is the moral thing to do, and probably the dumbest reason is we don’t want to offend the Mexican government or the Mexican people. The Mexican government has already responded to Governor Brewer’s action. They stated that the new law may affect border relations. Well, hurray for them. It’s past time to affect some change to border relations. It is past time for the Mexican government to quit encouraging illegal immigration to the U.S. It is past time for the Mexican government to control its drug wars and it is past time for the Mexican government to stop blaming the U.S. for its inability to protect its own people.

It is time for Americans to have the resolve to take charge of our own borders and enforce our right to protect those borders. If we don’t respect our own borders, how can we expect anyone else to do so. An international border, like any property line has privileges and responsibilities. These were recognized by Henry David Thoreau, 1817 – 1862, in a very telling statement:"Who are bad neighbors? " asked H. D. Thoreau, for the sole purpose of answering his own question.

"They who suffer their neighbors' cattle to go at large because they don't want their ill will,—are afraid to anger them. They are abettors of the ill-doers." Thoreau could have as readily asked, "Who are good neighbors?" Whereupon, following his reasoning, one could answer, "Those who build and maintain walls which keep out their neighbors' cattle."

Why do those in Washington have so much trouble understanding such a simple concept? Because as Thoreau points out, they are afraid. They are afraid to anger the Mexicans and therefore, by doing nothing, they become the abettors of the ill-doers. It is that simple and that disgusting.

Well, I don’t care if the Mexicans get angry. Their anger can’t be any worse than the present situation. And besides, we have a right to take action. Believe me, if we take action we may not be liked, but we will be respected. And respecting the property rights of United States citizens is very important to me. I like my property rights. I worked hard for my land and I don’t like trespassers. This is my land and my home and you may not enter without invitation. It is as simple as that. If I have to, I will build a fence to protect my rights and make clear to my neighbor where that property line is located. Over the years, I have owned several pieces of property and I have never had a problem with a neighbor over the installation or maintenance of a fence. Robert Frost (1874- 1963) said it very well in his poem, “Mending Wall,” published in 1914.

“…….He is all pine and I am apple orchard.

My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, "Good fences make good neighbors."

I agree. Good fences make good neighbors. It is a mark of respect that each neighbor observes. So, I say to Governor Brewer and the good citizens of Arizona: Thank you for standing up for your rights and may the President of the United States now realize his responsibilities under the Constitution.

And that’s how I feel today.