Common sense, or protection?

Re “A 670-mile-long shrine to American insecurity,” Opinion, April 7

Maybe it would be better to call the border fence a 670-mile-long shrine to American frustration or American ineptness. Gregory Rodriguez is right that we are to blame for the current situation and uses many historical references to give some perspective on today’s immigration. However, these are not the same United States as at the turn of the 20th century or World War II. We have gone from a manufacturing to a service economy, and even many service jobs have been outsourced.

We can no longer afford the poor, tired and huddled masses. Cities all over the country face budget deficits. California proposes to close state parks and cut school funding despite high taxes. It is not a matter of xenophobia but a matter of economic reality. We are broke. Maybe the next round of protests should be by the people paying all of the bills and getting less in return.

Bill Toth

Studio City

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Kudos to Rodriguez for pointing out America’s colossal insecurities in building the border wall. This country is now pandering to a loud minority of Americans who feel the need to put up a massive, ugly fence as a solution to the illegal immigration problem. They couldn’t be more wrong. Americans need to start realizing that the abundant supply of cheap labor from south of the border is necessary for our economic welfare. No border wall is going to change that, especially when Americans won’t get their hands dirty doing the tough, thankless jobs that immigrants do.

American insecurity is so outsized that even an Absolut vodka ad depicting a map of California as Mexico might like to see it is taken as an insult. Lighten up, people -- the ad was a joke.

Steve Cedillos

Beverly Hills

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So Rodriguez thinks the border wall reflects American insecurity. Funny, I thought it represented a far simpler idea: wanting to halt a disruption to American society that overwhelms the country’s public facilities. Or maybe Rodriguez has never waited in line for seven hours among illegal residents before seeing an emergency-room doctor. And how about the schoolchildren deprived of a fast learning experience while teachers accommodate students deficient in the English language?

The wall is not a byproduct of insecurity; it’s the implementation of common sense. Regrettably, Rodriguez’s sermonizing comes off as a feeble attempt to justify illegal immigration.

James Fulton

Glendale

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I wonder if Rodriguez locks his car or his house. Does he have a fence around his back yard? Does this make him insecure? Or does it just make him sensible?

Barbara Kilroy

Compton