Letters

From the July 2003 issue

(Page 2 of 2)

John Keeler
Phoenix, AZ

Comic Warrior

I would like to say how much I enjoy Peter Bagge's pieces. In fact, it was his work that inspired me to resubscribe to the magazine after a hiatus of a number of years.

I thought "Observations From a Reluctant Anti-Warrior" (March) was outstanding and paralleled my doubts about the wisdom of going into Iraq while at the same time finding myself as wary of peace activists as I am of the Bush administration. Just about all Bagge's pieces have been dead-on; they are usually the highlight of each issue. I hope you are able to retain his services for a good long time.

Robert Fisher
Corona, AZ

If Peter Bagge is so disturbed by the lack of libertarian presence at anti-war protests, why doesn't he help to organize a contingent at every one? Why not ask the local Libertarian Party to pull together its own protests? "Piggybackers" supporting every cause from animal rights to free markets to communist revolution will always be a presence at any march -- indeed, any public gathering. That's not so bad; that's democracy. The solution isn't to ask them to go away (or to waste time complaining) but to raise your own voice. And if leftists are the ones with the guts and the skills to do the hard work of pulling anti-war marches together, then they should get credit for that.

Jeremy Smith
San Francisco, CA

Porous Border

Thanks to Cathy Young for "Guilty by Association" (March). There are some points she may wish to consider.

It may be correct that illegal aliens who have sneaked into our country are not terrorists but poor people looking for work -- but there's no way of knowing that. The fact that the known terrorists come here legally does not preclude the possiblity (likelihood?) that others have filtered in through our porous borders. They do try to establish sleeper cells. How do we know they haven't taken advantage of our "good neighbor" border policy? If they have not, do we know they will not? What does prudence suggest?

Young implies that we must anticipate an ongoing flow of illegal aliens because of the need we have for low- paid, low-benefit workers. The money we spend trying to keep them out is wasted, and, she suggests, immigrants take jobs with working conditions so absurd that Americans refuse them. Yet it's evident that illegal aliens are taking jobs from American workers. American companies -- Tyson Chicken for example -- import illegal aliens, which keeps wages and general working conditions depressed and weakens unions. The workers are jammed into hovels and the benefits are nil.

Young, out of legitimate concern, argues that the law should change to permit workers to come into this country legally. But she misses a crucial point: It is the fact of illegality that makes the current system work. Illegal workers have to accept terribly low wages, miserable working conditions, and essentially no benefits. If they complain, it's easy to get them deported. If they became legal, they'd immediately demand higher wages, proper working conditions, and benefits. If they didn't get them, they could seek employment elsewhere. One can bet (though apparently no one knows) that the illegal aliens given amnesty in the 1980s didn't continue in their miserable jobs but moved up, making room for the next wave of their compatriots.

Finally, there is the issue of the significance of our borders. If we accept and tolerate the people who illegally swarm our country with impunity, we also accept that immigration policy is no longer in our hands. This means the nature of our society could change without discussion or debate. Perhaps one could argue that such changes are desirable, but the arguments should be made, not passively accepted as an inevitability.

Bertram H. Rothschild
Aurora, CO

reason news

With this issue, we welcome frequent contributor Michael Valdez Moses as a contributing editor. Michael's latest piece, "Back to the Future," can be found on page 48.

We're also happy to announce that Georgetown University senior Kerry Howley joined the staff in late May as this summer's Burton C. Gray Memorial Intern. Kerry will spend 10 weeks reporting from our Los Angeles offices.

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