Emergency Memo to the Open-Borders People

Stephen Dutch has pointed out a problem in open-borders rhetoric:

Oh, by the way, borders are easily visible from space. Their very artificiality makes them stand out.

I must admit to having used that kind of rhetoric in the past. We must change our cliches.

To: Open-Borders People
Subject: Change in Rhetoric
Date: Effective Immediately

For future reference please use the slogan “When you look at the world from space, you can't see any national labels.” instead of the deprecated slogan “When you look at the world from space, you can't see any national boundaries.” The problem isn't the border; the problem is the belief that one particular gang of clowns who happened to have been hanging around have more of a right to be there than people who might make something of the area.

But wait, there's more

The use of “national-boundaries” rhetoric instead of “national-labels” rhetoric might have caused the now-you-see-it-and-now-you-don't nature of the alleged leftist support for open borders. Since you can easily see ocean boundaries from space, ocean boundaries are regarded as more legitimate. For example, Mexicans get to the United States by land so they must be defended; Cuban refugees get to the United States by water so they must get sent back. Israelis of European descent, Protestant Ulstermen, or white Rhodesians got to Israel, Ulster, or Rhodesia by water so they're regarded as illegitimate. If we look at the idiocy Stephen Dutch was responding to, we see:

People of European descent — who crossed a vast ocean, not just a river that in some places is only a trickle of water (they are the true "wetbacks," if you will) and who only have a few generations on this land — are considered the "true" natives. This is how goofy borders have become, helping turn the truth on its head. In fact, there are Native peoples in the U.S. (although most of them have been embracing and open) who won't accept indigenous dances from Mexico or Central America in their Pow Wows or other ceremonies. The border has even affected how some native peoples see their native relatives from the other side.

I think he's saying “go back where you came from.”