I think most people have both intellectual and deeper, visceral reasons for the policies they promote. When people ask me why I defend immigration...Yes, there are lots of good intellectual reasons, but also, *it's what I grew up with*.https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1056206835810791425 …
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What they don't understand is that, like most people, I instinctively want to restore the America of my youth. And since I grew up under Reagan, Clinton, and Bush, my America was an America with immigrants. It was part of our communities, our culture, and our national story.
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Immigration was part of the fabric of daily life and community, but it was also a *nationalist* thing. We told ourselves that America, our country, was great because it was a nation of immigrants. That our nation took people from anywhere and uplifted them, gave them a shot.
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Immigrants were great people, of course. They were my friends' parents. They introduced me to interesting things. But on top of that, their presence symbolized the greatness of a nation that I felt I belonged to.
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Without immigration, we were - what? Just like all those other countries, which I imagined (not correctly, but not entirely incorrectly either) as closed-off societies that defined themselves by race, ancestry, and pedigree.
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In fact, I still believe something like this, though now I've seen with my own eyes the power of the xenophobic backlash that has also occasionally defined America throughout its history. I believe we have the power to stop that backlash if we want.
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The America of the 1990s and 2000s is gone now (and yes, parts of it needed to go). But I want the new America that emerges from our current time of troubles to retain the essential elements of the America I believed in when I was young. And immigration is one of those.
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This is not to say that there aren't also very good intellectual, pragmatic justifications for immigration. There are plenty. But for anyone who wondered about why I'm *emotionally* invested in the issue...well, there you go. (end)
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It’s a dangerous viewpoint to hold. That will lead to a violent backlash if your vision is realized. America is not immune to the nature of humans.
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Whatever happened to "American exceptionalism"? Or the idea that America has a special mission in world history? Reagan's city on a hill? Are conservatives really ready to give all that up to cater to Trump?
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I’m just saying this as someone with roots in the most diverse continent on the planet. That this vision of non-stop, unfettered immigration will lead to disaster.
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This "non-stop, unfettered immigration" is exactly how we became the wealthiest, most powerful country in human civilization.
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Debatable. Period if this country’s greatest expansion happened when immigration was practically nil.
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And it’s greatest Depression happened right after the border with Europe was closed.
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Are you asserting the Great Depression was caused in part by immigration laws??
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Could certainly have exacerbated it, yeah.
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and, maybe, you don't understand them. because you *feel* the way you do and they *feel* the way they do.
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There are very few people who are "Anti-Immigration" and you know that term is misleading. The real debate is against illegal immigration. It is fun to see the left (the more government side) want immigration to be random. I thought government needs to make these big decisions?
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You know that is disingenuous. There are plenty of people who are advocating for reductions or the elimination of both legal and illegeal immigration. If you are unaware of that, then I don't believe you are really paying attention.
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Big word... impressive! There are some, but most are not and that was my point. By the way, I don't have the time to waste being "disingenuous" with people I will never know. Why would I care to deceive you Brad? You are not worth that effort.
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My question is: You want unlimited immigration but also an insanely generous welfare state...and don’t see any conflict
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