Thread: NC-Another sob story from Hispanic paper

The story of Juan: Undocumented but not anti-American
Sally Kohn Sally Kohn

The first thing I noticed about Juan when I met him was his presence, John is sure, the type of person with potential to be a leader in any field you choose. The second thing you notice John is sadness in his eyes. His country, the only home he has known, decided that the potential is irrelevant, that no matter how much talent, passion, vision and motivation you may have to overcome the fact that he and his family once crossed the border our country without permission. It's like that John, the person does not exist. In our country, he is treated like a number, one that must be reduced or feared.
Fear is one of the dominant forces of motivation and manipulation in politics today. Some have tried to convince us that we should be afraid of immigrants, exploiting our fear about our jobs, health care and the economy, while pointing our fingers at immigrants saying they are the cause of our problems. These are problems that have existed for years, deep defects in the distribution of wealth and opportunity in our society, and undocumented immigrants are the latest scapegoats. Fear is used to distract us while the real problems are growing.

What else then? The emotion mutual respect, where one's destiny is intertwined with the other, where you can not really be sure if the other is in danger, where we are not truly free if they are prisoners, not real happy if they are unhappy, we call it love. I mean the moral, spiritual love also, a sense of connectedness with other human beings and their struggles are our struggles, their pain our pain.

When do we close the borders to the American dream? Have we decided that we have distributed enough love and justice or there is not enough to go around? In a nation founded on the idea that freedom and equality and opportunity are renewable resources and that more is better, we have reached "the highest point of love" and we've exhausted?

The writer CS Lewis wrote, "We love knowing that we are alone." And as a nation are blessed by the generosity of generation on generation of immigrants who have come to our borders and our ports to make a better life for themselves and meanwhile, made a better country for us all. It is the nation that, despite its growing pains on the road to justice is one that we should be proud to love. And Juan, like millions waiting at the gates of the American dream, loves his country and ask in return our love.

Sally Kohn is executive campaign strategist for the Center for Community Change.

http://www.lanoticia.com/

And Juan, like millions waiting at the gates of the American dream, loves his country and ask in return our love.

Yea...except poor juan did not wait at the gates,he crashed through the gate and then expects the same treatment and consideration as those who respected the gate!

Pass the tissues...and while your at it, deport juan and every other illegal invader who violated our gates!

And as a nation are blessed by the generosity of generation on generation of immigrants who have come to our borders and our ports to make a better life for themselves

Well Juan and millions like him are not immigrants ,but ILLEGAL ALIENS!

Second time just today that I've read a sob story on here so sad I can barely see through my streaming tears to type this.

If I break in to the neighbor's house or rob a bank, then tell a sad sob story about why I had to do it, will I get off all charges? Will I in fact be rewarded? He!! NO. And neither should Juan.

Get the he!! out of our sovereign nation now. Seriously, pack your bags and go. The American people are taking our country back, and we will have NONE of this anymore.

Originally Posted by vortex

The second thing you notice John is sadness in his eyes. His country, the only home he has known, decided that the potential is irrelevant, that no matter how much talent, passion, vision and motivation you may have to overcome the fact that he and his family once crossed the border our country without permission. It's like that John, the person does not exist. In our country, he is treated like a number, one that must be reduced or feared. Fear is used to distract us while the real problems are growing.

What else then? The emotion mutual respect, where one's destiny is intertwined with the other, where you can not really be sure if the other is in danger, where we are not truly free if they are prisoners, not real happy if they are unhappy, we call it love. [/url]

I like that "he and his family once crossed the border our country without permission. Like they are here on vacation..without permission! They broke the law!

"Fear is used to distract us while the real problems are growing."

The real problem is ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.

"mutual respect"

Illegals have no respect for our country, our laws, our culture, or anything. "mutual respect" my a$$!

I'm tired of all the sob stories of Juans and Juanitas in this country. They are illegal aliens who have no respect for the country they entered into illegally. They don't care about the damage they have done to U.S. citizens and legal immigrants in this country. I live in New Mexico so I deal with a lot of these kinds of sob stories. But I have known a few legal immigrants who deserve to be applauded for their respect for the law and country. Illegal aliens who demand things they don't deserve shouldn't be in this country.