The Fence Is Going Up!

One of the FEW responsibilities of a valid government is to protect the safety and security of it's citizens. To this end there has been *much* discussion as to what should (or should not) be done to protect the southern and northern (landlocked) borders of the United States of America.

This morning on the radio, one of our local radio commentators interviewed a judge from Cameron county concerning progress on the border fence.

Good fences make good neighbors, right? Funny thing is, when the border fence is referred to in Spanish, I have *never* heard it referred to as a "fence" (cerca). Without exception, people speaking Spanish refer to this as "El Muro" (The Wall). More than once I have been speaking with bilingual friends and the subject has come up. When I have asked the question "Have you ever seen pictures of the Berlin Wall coming down? This is not a Wall - this is a fence." the response has been "Well yeah but you know...".

That's the problem. I do know.

What is being built looks to be a sensible fence. It will not be located on the levies and have to be torn down in 2011. It will not be built inside city limits. Those two particular genius proposals (and all the resultant flap about "The Wall" cutting Brownsville in half as it followed the levy) are complete inventions of local Rio Grande Valley politicians. (I know you will be as shocked as I was to learn that politicians had actually lied...)

These same politicians are now hanging their hopes on Barack Obama to "Stop the Wall". But, by their own admission, Obama "has a lot on his plate" and he "might not be able to give the necessary attention to a small piece of South Texas".

All this would mean that, despite the best efforts of local politicians, the American government has actually taken steps to protect American citizens.

Love it or hate it, comments are encouraged.