Bipartisan Immigration

I thoroughly enjoyed the editorial I recently read in USA today about a bipartisan immigration plan.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/01/28/citizenship-illegal-immigrants-senators/1872653/

With the liberals talking about a fast-track to citizenship and the conservatives cracking down on immigration, illegal immigrants have been a hot topic for years. Amnesty, maybe the only word that immediately caught my attention when first reading through this article, has seemed to stand in the way of the conservatives' plans throughout recent years.

Here's the ugly truth: most people support amnesty. It would be cruel to force millions of illegal immigrants out of our country-- "the home of the free..." This is where a bipartisan agreement really needs to come into play. I agree with conservatives to some extent... "There should be some punishment for breaking the law..." but at what cost?

Liberals also have the right idea. Amnesty must be enacted with some discretion. There needs to be a helpful and supportive but also fair way of making illegal immigrants into citizens. We can't just ship them all back, but we can't just sit back and let whoever we want go wherever they want, work wherever they want, or take advantage of the rights granted to U.S. citizens and immigrants who have followed processes and done things honestly and correctly. I don't think that illegal immigrants are any less deserving of natural rights or certain freedoms than I am, but there has to be some respect for the law and some consequence for breaking it.

This editorial does a great job of highlighting both the liberal and conservative perspectives on immigration. It really made me think about equality within our democracy and the importance of having laws set in place to regulate things such as immigration. I agree that both parties as well as illegal immigrants are going to benefit from the conservatives coming together and reaching a compromise on an immigration plan. 

It's time to view our country as the melting pot that it is and work together to prevent future problems with illegal immigration. 

Where's the Hope?

This week, President Obama was inaugurated for the second time. While this is, yet again, a landmark in our nation's history, some seem to think that the "excitement" is gone.

In a recent CNN article, Paul Steinhauser comments on the rather disappointing feeling after Obama's inauguration speech, saying that the hope that Obama might bring the nation together may be gone.  http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/21/obamas-second-inauguration-is-the-thrill-gone/

This article rings true with me, because, after reading other articles on the inauguration and talking to my fellow politically minded colleaugues, I have found that President Obama said little to encourage consevative and liberal unity. He talked about pushing liberal opinions even more when it comes to debt ceilings and paying off national debt. In the words of my friend Glen, he seems to have "screwed the pooch" when it comes to encouraging a feeling of teamwork in our country.

This is sad to me, because with the start of a new presidential term, I had hoped that our President could provide some encouragement or at least prove some critics wrong and present a demeanor of open-mindedness to those who have been so disappointed after the past four years of seeing little done to fix our nation's debt and unemployment.

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on the inauguration and on this article in particular. Why can't we work as a team, am I right?

Political Novice

Growing up, I was surrounded by strong, right-winged believers almost my entire life. While politics were never pushed or talked about much in my home, it was a fact that my family-- immediate and extended-- was entirely comprised of Conservatives.

Growing up in a Baptist Church, this should probably have been expected. While religion and politics claim to be separate affairs, I think we can all agree that one tends to influence the other in some very big ways, and while politics were never spoken of much in my home or in my church, I was conditioned to believe the Conservative way. 

Now, I'm not saying I've rebelled from this much... but I've also never been a politically savvy person, nor have I ever cared much to learn about politics. I thought I knew where I stood when it came to the leaders of our country and the big issues, but I'm slowly learning just how little I know about what REALLY goes on within our government.

I moved to Austin a few years ago and it was quite a culture shock. Moving from a small, sheltered, conservative home in Northern Detroit to the colorful, inventive, and rebellious city of Austin (a city with the strongest concentration of Democrats in Texas) was eye-opening to say the least. A move like that in the middle of your adolescence is bound to make you question your beliefs.

And so here I am, now 20 years old and still clueless about our government, but ready to make an effort to find a side to take, a place to stand, or a party to affiliate with. 

Think of me as the Political Novice-- ears and eyes open, new and impressionable, skeptical but intrigued.