The Third Option: Trump, Immigration and the American Way

Once again this week, the spotlight has been on Trump, what Trump has said, and what others are saying about what Trump said. The topic has also once again turned to immigration after the troubling events in San Bernardino. The cause for the attention on Trump is mainly his comments regarding the banning of Muslims from entering the country. But right now, I want to take the spotlight off of Trump and ask a question that seems to often get lost in the melee - “What should we actually do?”

In our divided political system, we often lose track of this basic question. Instead we look at this person’s idea, and then on to this other person’s idea, and back and forth it goes until we are forced to take a side and stick with it. It’s just easier sometimes to make a choice of “which side you’ll support”, rather than critically thinking through the issues, taking them apart and coming to your own conclusion.

It is something I have mentioned before, we cannot allow ourselves to be boxed into this dichotomy of choices. We must realize, there is always a third option, and usually a fourth and fifth options as well.

As this issue of Muslim immigrants has come to the forefront, many in the media have presented it thus - “Either you open your arms and your country (and wallet) to every single immigrant that wants in, or else you are a hateful xenophobe that essentially wants every Muslim in a concentration camp.”

According to many in the media, those are your only two choices.

Here at Paineful Truth, we consider it our job to bring the truth to the light, and the truth is you have another choice!

Trump is rising in the polls and holding the nation’s attention because he speaks to the heart of what people are feeling - fear, trepidation, insecurity. Americans see unsustainable government waste (not spending, waste), over $18 trillion in debt, a country without borders, terrorists in our own backyards, and sadly, the list goes on.

Americans love their country. They know how good it is here, the unrivaled freedom that they enjoy everyday. They know that these ridiculous, horrid things cannot continue to happen if they have any hope of their children enjoying the same kind of freedom. They want action. Strong, decisive action that will save a country they see slipping away, and make America great again. And Trump is offering that kind of leadership.

But leadership always has a direction. And the question becomes, is Trump leading in the correct, or best, direction? The options Trump is presenting to the country are: Either we “Let all the terrorists in and give them welfare.” Or we “Ban all Muslims from entering until the government gets their act together.”

If you allow yourself to be boxed in to the dichotomy of choices, the answer would be obvious. However, take a step back and think outside that box. What could that third choice be?

Consider this: in 2013, there were over 990,000 new legal permanent residents that came to the U.S. It is estimated that there are well over 9 million (depends on how it is counted, some estimates put it as high as 90 million) American citizens who are unemployed. The U.S. has $18 trillion in debt and growing.

This is not xenophobic, this is mathematic.

What if the United States secured all borders to eliminate illegal immigration while at the same time halting all legal immigration for a period of time, say ten years. This would not only allow time for new immigrants to assimilate, it would also largely eliminate the threat of terrorists exploiting our immigration system and/or borders to do us harm, while allow us as a country to get “a handle on things”.

Now, before anyone starts clamoring about how ‘unkind’ or ‘irresponsible’ this kind of policy might be, let me make one thing perfectly clear:

Our government must turn its focus back on America first. I discussed earlier how Obama has failed in his leadership role as President by promoting government’s abandonment of its Constitutional role. When government does that, Americans don’t come first and as a result the world suffers.

It is far past time for our government to get its priorities straight. Fulfill your responsibility to us, the citizens. Perform your role, and we will perform ours.

Jonathan Paine

@painefultruth76

painefultruth1776@gmail.com