Is Congress Right?

As we type, Congress is pressing for a bill that will forever change our futures, as the younger generation. Here's the gist of it; they want to give citizenship to illegal immigrants who attend college or are a part of the military for two years.

Now, many of you may agree with this, but allow me to state my passionate opinion. They are ILLEGAL. They crossed our borders WITHOUT PERMISSION. Certainly, things are bad in their country, but what right does that give them to come to ours and let us pay for them? Why do you think taxes have gone up? Because we're paying for them to sit back and do nothing! That's what "welfare" is now!

Sure, we've "invested" in them, because we're FORCED to. And these immigrants are not only Hispanic, either. It's insanely easy for a Middle Eastern terrorist to pose as a Hispanic person. We let everybody walk all over us, and the other countries either pity us or laugh at us for it. Look at Australia; no matter what country you're from, you can't immigrate to Australia. The government is ruining our country, and people don't know to wake up and stop it!

Guys, it's up to us. We can't let them do this; we can't let them ruin our futures. If we just give away citizenship to whoever the heck happens to be standing around, they will take away all of our college positions, and all of our jobs. I'm not suggesting anything crazy, like civil war or genocide, we just need to stop letting them into our country like this!

I know, I know, I'm way enthuisiastic, but I warned you this was a passionate topic for me. So, do you think Congress (Democrats!) is right? Or do you hope somebody will knock some sense into their thick skulls?

~Tobi~
~Also, this bill would alter the Constitution; our country did not encounter these serious problems until we started messing around with something that's worked just fine for 400+ years~

Well, judging by the... Er... Balance... Between the two political parties in the White House, and considering that our president does not know what he is doing, and the fact that we are just teenagers, we can't really do anything. And as for the jobs and college positions-- Yeah, I agree 101%. I mean, we were born here, we have been living here almost our whole lives, and we have been working hard at earning our college education. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to have some fence-hopping idiot take that away from me. Plus, as the older teenagers hop the border, they're not only taking what could have been ours, but what else are they bringing with them? Their friend Mary Juana. Yeah, they're bringing drugs, selling it to kids, and going off to college in their place after they've ruined the kid's life! As for America's reputation, I think we need to make like France or New Zealand! Lolwut? you ask. Lookie...

See, France has a little rule, and it goes something like this. You may not move to the country just to live their. You must be either studying abroad, living with family, being deployed in the military, or coming in search of a job. If you're a nurse, per se, and you want to move to France, you must tell the government why you deserve to be there. If France needs or could use a few more nurses, then hey, you're moving to France! But if France does not need any nurses, you get rejected and have to stay in your current location.

So, I think I must agree with Tobi on this.

- Cheez

I totally agree with you, Tobi! Yes, they might be desperate to come to a better life, but can't they figure out how to get into our country legally?! I mean, the US really isn't that great. Plus, I'm going to need a schalorship to get into college. I'm not going to pay for an illegal immigrent to go to college if I can't! We've worked hard, we've payed taxes, and we cannot continue to spend money like this. We are in a recession, and the US needs all the money we can get. It's hard enough to get into college if you've lived here your whole life! If these 18 year olds are sneaking accross the border to go to great schools, and we're paying for it, then shouldn't we be paying for our own kids to go to college, too? It just isn't right that Congress is trying to do something like this. I call for RETALLIATION!(I hope I spelled that right.)
-Rachelle41

I think it is a good idea to offer citizenship to people who deserve it but not to people who do not. We saw this on CNN Student News in Journalism a couple of days ago. They may be getting into our country illegally but that does not matter.

~Giraffe22~
~May the odds be ever in your favor~

Aw, hon, it's a nice sentiment, ain't it? These poor people should just overpopulate our country and we should give it all to 'em. Y'know, this sentiment is so sweet, and so entirely ridiculous, that it's made me burn my waffles. And ya' know what? That was the only thing left for me to eat in this house. Haha.

I'm calm, though, just calm. 'Cause they're hopping the border ILLEGALLY. ILLEGALLY. ILLEGALLY. Sure, I've got nothing against Mexicans, nothin' at all, but it's the ILLEGAL immigrants who are not ALL Mexican and we want to give all our money to that bothers me. Y'know, our economy isn't doing so well right now, and people like me, who weren't so well of to begin with, are the ones who suffer.

Allow me to give you an analogy. Okay, so say you and a few other people get a hundred, some other kids get a seventy five, and the rest of the kids get a fifty. It's just not FAIR, is it? So the teachers take twenty five points from the hundreds and give them to the fifties. NOW it's fair. Um, excuse me? I'm the AMERICAN CITIZEN, who's grandparents came from POLAND to escape the war, and I'm paying for people who hop the border like there's no tomorrow. Yeah, we all know Mexico should get a clue and fix a couple thousand things so people stop leaving their country, but that doesn't mean we should just let them waltz over here and then pay for them to live. What about us? It's a nice sentiment, but what are we supposed to do when our own country takes from us, when we don't have all that much to start with, and gives to somebody else?

Another thing; do you all want to go to college? I do. That's why I work my butt off in school, and at soccer, beta club, and chorus, so everything's all nice and tidy for my college apps. Um, wait, so let me get this straight; I can't attend the college of my dreams because you gave my spot away to an illegal immigrant?

As cheez said, countries like France, New Zealand, and Australia don't even let you immigrate to their countries. And drugs? I just noticed that, but it's definitely true. California ain't the only one growin' weeds, and I don't want to see any more kids mixed up in that kind of stuff.

Sure, it's a nice sentiment now, but when we give citizenship to every "fence-hopping idiot" who comes into this country, ya'll ain't gonna be so happy about this decision.

~Tobi~
~Sorry that I'm writing with a country accent, I just get so upset when my waffles burn~

Okay, you guys are going to hink I'm a total jerk, but I don't t we've considered the other side of the situation. It takes a lot of courage to hop into a ountry where you might not speak their languge, don't know anyone, and don't know if you'll be able to get a job. Yes, the Mexican-American border is not too heavely guarded, but it is somewhat guarded. So these people might get shot. They're risking their lives to get better lives. When you're an illegal immigrant, everything is on the line. You don't know if your kids will go to college, or what will happen if you're found out. The ICE will come, take the person from their family(if they have one) and put them in a miserable prison. These people may have kids, spouses, and if they get carried off one day, what kind of future will their family have? They came here for a better life, and they risked alot to get it. I know that the economy is bad, I know that we can't pay for every person who wnats to live here. But don't you think there should be some sort of program or something that can help the illegal immigrents who are already here, and those who want to come here, so they don't have to live in fear everyday? I'm just saying maybe we've judged this all to quickly. Maybe we need to take a little different perspective on things? What would we want if we came here, illegaly?
-Rachelle41
In case you guys are wondering what alll this came from, I watched this Desperate Housewives episode and there was this lady who's husband was here illeagly, and so many bad things happened to the family. I know, I know, I shouldn't watch Desperate Husewives, but, suprisingly, it's a pretty good show. I mean, every show has it's flaws, but overall it's pretty good.

Hmmm...You've got an interesting point, Rachelle-chan. Sorry for my rather upset post earlier, it's just, I get really unpredictable when I'm hungry. Actually, I'm pretty dang hungry right now...XD

I know, I know, I've thought about it that way too; they don't come to our country because their own is fantastic. In fact, it makes me feel a little guilty when I think of how hard it is for them to live. But, really, I just think it's a situation where we have to put ourselves first. This program, if denied, will not make a lasting impact on them, but it will on us. I'm a person who is very focused on the future; I have goals and dreams, and I'm an American citizen. Sure, it's our "mission" as Americans (or so it seems) to fix up all the other countries. However, letting them free-load off of us isn't helping.

If they don't understand our language, too bad. We've worked hard throughout our lives to master it. It's fine to feel pity, and it's fine to know we aren't being the nicest we could be, but...

Take Abraham Lincoln for example. He was a great guy, quite possibly the best human anybody could be, but he wasn't the best leader. Rather than making decisions that were best for this country, he tried to please everybody, and that just doesn't work. In the end, only his humanity has remained in our memories; he inspired people, and that's wonderful. It didn't help us with the Civil War at all, though; his decisions just weren't the kind a leader needs to make.

We can think of that side, Rachelle-chan; they're people in trouble, so we should help them, right? But they are not a part of our country. We pay tax dollars for them while we live in the roughest times we've known. We're closer to another Great Depression than we've ever been in the past fifty years, and yet we think it's "right" to shoulder the burden of a people that is not our own, to give our futures away to someone else.

Perhaps it would be "noble". Perhaps it would be "moral". But it is not right, not politically. We have to secure our own futures! We need to stop putting others before ourselves, because in the end, that will only destroy us. Family, friends - they're important because we know and love them. But these people are strangers. They are illegal. Our country, could crash any day now, and we just can't take that extra burden.

~Tobi~
~I hope this made logical sense, I get kind of confusing when I speak emotionally~

Hopping the border because they don't know their kids will go to college? Well judging by the way they're just bounding on over here, now my parents are not sure that I'm going to go to college. My apologies for the short post, but I wanted to point that out :3

I understand your point, Tobi-chan. It's just, America has been known for being the most accepting country in the entire world. If the United States is doing bad, then how bad must other countries be suffering? Yes, they're illegal, and we think "Well, why can't these people just find a way to get here legally?" Well, it costs money, which they don't have. It also takes time, which they might not be sure that they have, either. I believe Abraham Lincoln did the best he could in the situation. He didn't want to cause a civil war, so of course he was trying to please everyone. He wanted to avoid bloodshed and death. Yes, perhaps you think that we are giving away our own futures. I'm not really sure how to answer that. We all want a good future- the illegals in the country and our own citizens. I know that we can't grant everybody a great future. But is it right to let one side take all the negativity, and the other side take hardley any? Both sides must suffer equally. It won't be easy, and it most certainly will be hard. But we have to think that those other people are people too. They want the exact same thing we want-a great future.
-Rachelle41

That's just the thing. Because of our suffering, other countries are doing better. Particularly China, who just so happens to own our country...but that's beside the point~

Abraham Lincoln's decisions were not precisely the cause of the Civil War. In fact, the only thing he had to do with the start of the war was his election, which began the South's succession from the Union. It was his decisions during the War that prolonged it; he felt empathetic towards both sides, wanted to please both sides, but it just isn't possible. We have to look at the future, and see how this will affect our future.

They want to change the constitution for this. The CONSTITUTION, which has worked for more than TWO HUNDRED YEARS. Once again, we shouldn't be trying to please people, we should be making decisions to benefit our country, before we fall apart. At this point, that'll take more than one presidency to fix.

You remind me very strongly of a good friend of mine, Rachelle. Recently, in class, we read "Night", a memoir by Elie Wiesel about his time in the Nazi concentration camps. It was depressing; that boy went through hell, and all in one year. My friend repeatedly said she wished we could take some of Eliezer's pain; that we could go through what he went through, just to empathize. But, in that case, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. That sort of misery is impossible to erase; it haunts you for the rest of your life.

Instead, we should learn from past mistakes, to ensure they will never happen again. Someone will always suffer once a decision is made; the key is to cause as little suffering as possible. And, as cheez said, our parents are afraid for OUR futures. If we, this country's future, are forced to lose our own, what hope do we have of restoring our country? Will we be destroyed, for the sake of another country? We have worked hard, haven't we? From the time we were born. Life is not a fairytale. Life is not fair. This has always been pounded into us, and it couldn't be more true. If we fall, so will our country. Not everyone can have a "happy ending", but we must make sacrifices to ensure the futures of our generation and the next.

This is our country.

~Tobi~

Tobi, you re absolutly right and I couldn't agree more. Also, let's cut the Abe Lincoln talk for now. It's practically becoming it's own debate.
-Rachelle41

The stupid idiots of congress! I WILL NOT let my parents hard earned money and my future go out the window! And if they're from, like, Cuba and get here, then hooray for them, I'll help them. Seriously, those people need help cause the country's ruler is a total idiot. But Mexico? They can get citizenship if they want it, cause I'm not paying for it. Get it BEFORE you come over the border LEGALLY. Wouldn't it just be easier for you to come over legally, with a passport, then illegally? You guys sure are making us mad by having us pay for you to go to school and all. You say 'hooray, America's full of idiots who'll pay for us!', but really, we're not idiots, the guy in charge, cough cough Obama, is the idiot who's passing the idiotic laws. Had to share my opion guys. Merry Christmas!