Illegal Alien
Illegal Immigrant
Undocumented Worker
Three terms that describe a certain type of people. People who have entered a country through a process in which they have broken laws to do so. People who may not have had a choice when it came to leaving their country. Did the Europeans not come to the America's as Illegal Immigrants? Some, such as the English, were fleeing oppression within their countries. Others wished to make a profit. The result...tribes, cultures, lives were taken for the benefit of these immigrants. But that was 200 years ago, when a sense of equity was more vague. It was nonexistent even.
Throughout the years, many people have debated the connotation of the words, and the context in which we use them. Many online resources debate this subject quite intensely. For they argue that one may be seen as degrading, another a scientific and politically correct term, the third doesn't seem to correspond with the other two whatsoever. Yet upon looking up their definitions, I find that the definitions are very similar.
As seen above, the definitions are quite similar. They are similar enough that people use these words interchangeably, as synonyms. As a human race, we almost forfeit the right to have our own ideas become great ideas. At least on their own. So as we stand together, we mold these ideas into great circumstances as we strive to survive. We determine the meaning of a word, we give it meaning based on contempt, or euphoria, or some other emotion. For a word is just syllables combined, strange scribbles conjoined to form something greater. People, all of us, in some form or another strive for excellence.
"We won't tell anyone we're illegals, and we'll get good grades. We promise." (Reyna Grande, 166)
At some point in our lives, we have all made a promise similar to this. Few can claim a similar situation to Reyna Grande's however, at least I haven't met many. As we see in the book, even Reyna's older sister knows the severity of letting people know where she is from. Many suspect, but the preponderance of people refuse to do anything about it.
It is dangerous how many people enter the US each year, the children that are left at warehouses with no families. Police will come and do something about it, the reporters will swarm, and the rest of the country sees the truth. For awhile at least. Then the excitement fades, being replaced with politics. The poverty and border crossing continues, children don't get a chance at life. Only a chance at poverty. And how does this affect others? Such as our troops away at war?
Do we really want our soldiers in the middle east coming back to a broken country? One where people are unsure of what they're doing, others who probably don't belong? That is not why they went to war, they go to protect us, to fulfill a duty to our country. Yet those who stay behind forget this duty, we are blinded by the media. A veil covers our eyes and we stuff our ears so as not to hear the truth. When will we realize that this problem is evident and needs a solution?
So we come back once again to the topic of what we should do, what we can do. For sending troops down to the border and building walls are not solutions. We must take a step forward, collaborate with other governments, put aside petty biases, and find solutions. To help these people, not to oppress them.
• • •
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| Illegal Alien |
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| Illegal Immigrant |
As seen above, the definitions are quite similar. They are similar enough that people use these words interchangeably, as synonyms. As a human race, we almost forfeit the right to have our own ideas become great ideas. At least on their own. So as we stand together, we mold these ideas into great circumstances as we strive to survive. We determine the meaning of a word, we give it meaning based on contempt, or euphoria, or some other emotion. For a word is just syllables combined, strange scribbles conjoined to form something greater. People, all of us, in some form or another strive for excellence.
"We won't tell anyone we're illegals, and we'll get good grades. We promise." (Reyna Grande, 166)
At some point in our lives, we have all made a promise similar to this. Few can claim a similar situation to Reyna Grande's however, at least I haven't met many. As we see in the book, even Reyna's older sister knows the severity of letting people know where she is from. Many suspect, but the preponderance of people refuse to do anything about it.
It is dangerous how many people enter the US each year, the children that are left at warehouses with no families. Police will come and do something about it, the reporters will swarm, and the rest of the country sees the truth. For awhile at least. Then the excitement fades, being replaced with politics. The poverty and border crossing continues, children don't get a chance at life. Only a chance at poverty. And how does this affect others? Such as our troops away at war?
Do we really want our soldiers in the middle east coming back to a broken country? One where people are unsure of what they're doing, others who probably don't belong? That is not why they went to war, they go to protect us, to fulfill a duty to our country. Yet those who stay behind forget this duty, we are blinded by the media. A veil covers our eyes and we stuff our ears so as not to hear the truth. When will we realize that this problem is evident and needs a solution?
So we come back once again to the topic of what we should do, what we can do. For sending troops down to the border and building walls are not solutions. We must take a step forward, collaborate with other governments, put aside petty biases, and find solutions. To help these people, not to oppress them.
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