MINUTE MEN - Does evil lurk in their hearts?


I was having a great discussion with an enlightened fellow blogger, he of a proggresive persuation and agenda. He bought up a few things that, after reading and digging up some facts, I thought were valid enough for me to jump on; especially since my positive opinion of the Minutemen is well documented.
As we type and read, a minutemen caravan is making its way to the border states, passing through a myriad of towns and cities and whipping up a nationalistic frenzy. This is a tangled web we are weaving, as the forces behind apparent good sometimes leave much to be desired.
QuakerDave (http://quakeragitator.blogspot.com/) mentioned (and I have heard from other sources as well) the showing of some confederate symbols at some minutemen locations. (In fairness, Anderson Cooper of CNN showed no such thing during one of his many reports, but he did not cover ALL the locations so the allegations may have merit). With all respect to the South, to the Mason-Dixon line, to Dixie and all the good people of our southern states, there are certain symbols that have gone from just a "symbol" to being the defacto call to arms for such movements such as white supremacy and racism. I'm not one to judge, but any bonehead who raises the confederate flag under the guise of ANY quest or mission, is harming that very mission no matter its noble goal.
My second point is this. It is easy to infiltrate a good cause with members whose agenda is much larger and devious, yet who feel the host organization holds a common cause with their own. The protection of ones borders is noble, salient, logical and wise. Otherwise, why is there a fence around the White House? why do we lock our doors at night? why do we have alarm systems in our cars? Because the evil residing in the hearts of some men are difficult to see and more difficult to feel. This is the house of America,... as any house has a reasonable expectation of security and marked borders, so should the house of America have borders and security measures. Even though most of the 9/11 criminals came via Canada, the sheer number of border-crossers in the Mexican front makes it stupid and foolish not to assume danger in the political policy of in-action.
I support the Minutemen project with caveats. I support the vigilance of our borders. I support the sanctity of our sovereign land and the dream that comes with living here. I support legal immigration as we are all from someplace else, save for the native tribes. I support the right of any American to protect that which is his own and identified as lawful under state, local or federal mandate.
What I DON'T support is anyone who used the Minutemen organization as a cover for hate, racial supremacy, racism, and irrational nationalism. Illegal immigration has two arguments that are intrinsic and mutually exclusive. There is the Legal argument, (and that is a moot point since entering the country without proper process is an ILLEGAL act). Right or wrong, whether you agree or not this is in the books and if it pisses you off, then write to your Congressman and support a change of law. The second argument is a MORAl argument. If I were a Mexican living in poverty, with Children to feed,... I would jump the fence too! I would definitely jump the border, break the law and do whatever I had to do to feed my family, laws be damned. But I (and society) must accept the fact, that regardless of the MORAL argument, the legal argument has as much merit for the right as the MORAL argument has for the left. Are we not a nation of laws? Yes we are.
Again, we have to learn to argue both sides of the issue independently of the other because they BOTH have merit and validity. We are a giving, loving and caring nation. In spite of our current public-relations black eye there is no nation in the world that provides more funding for the world's ills than America the beautiful. I encourage the Minutemen to be transparent in their mission, to be warry of the make-up of their associates and to have a 2-prongued medium to their mission of both vigilance AND compassion for humanity.
This has been a public service announcement inspired by the good people of the Garden State, I after all, love the Jersey shore....