Commentary : Passions Light Up at Border Demonstration : Protesters of Illegal Crossings Want Good Neighbors

She thrust a mirror through the open window of my car screaming, “Look at your face, you racist pig!”

Angry words from an angry young woman reflecting, perhaps, the anger and hostility of many Latinos who participated in the counter-demonstration at the “Light Up the Border” in San Diego on April 27. And yes, “go back where you belong” comments by some Americans illustrates well the frustration and escalating tension between people who share a common border.

Neighbors. That’s what we are. And we’d like to be “good” neighbors. But that implies more than just physical, geographical happenstance. It implies a respect for each other’s territory and people and customs and laws.

The early settlers of New England realized this well, and from them came the wise old expression “Good fences make good neighbors.” And, just as the New England farmer of 1620 would have protested if his neighbor cut down his fence allowing his cows to roam at will, destroying well-tended fields and gardens, so too, we Americans protest against those who destroy not just our communities but flout our laws daily.

Simply entering our country illegally is a crime, but unfortunately that is only the tip of the iceberg:

1) Felony crime. Almost 50% of the aliens arrested in San Diego were repeat felony offenders, according to the San Diego Assn. of Governments.

2) Medical Care. Illegal aliens cost the citizens of California more than $1 billion in unpaid medical care last year alone.

3) Employment. For every 100 aliens who find jobs, 65 Californians are put out of work, according to a Rice University study.

4) Education. Illegal aliens and their children are flooding our schools and diluting our educational system. In San Diego County alone, there are more than 90,000 Latino students, many of whose families are in the country illegally. And the average cost of educating a child in San Diego County is more than $4,000. More if the cost of bilingual education is added on.

From big cities to small towns, concern increases. How long can we afford to support 3,000 aliens who, the Border Patrol says, cross into the country illegally every day? How long can we survive an invasion which threatens the social fabric and economic structure of our existence?

The young woman who screamed at me chooses to overlook the fact that this is “our country.”

We too have rights, and unfortunately we are being put in the position of having to fight for them--and defend them daily--by a million or more illegal aliens who call us “racists” if we do not roll over and accede to their every demand.

Hardly an enviable position. We’d much rather build bridges than fences. But both are necessary.

We must, like the wise New Englanders, start with the fences and then when passions have cooled, start rebuilding the bridges which lead to mutual respect.