What is the answer?
It seems that every day
there is an issue which dominates the news that has a profound effect on our
daily lives. The war in Iraq, strides in nuclear power in Iran and a little
girl stolen from her bed in Portugal has covered the news for quite a long
time. Meanwhile, on the local front, there are issues like the lack of rain
this past winter, the Governor’s removal of subvention funding for Williamson
Act contracted lands, the casino, and immigration reform which all will have
major impacts on residents and the local economy.
This past week
announcements were made stating that a new immigration program had been worked
out with bipartisan support in the Senate. The bill will now go to the House, which
is theoretically going to have a more difficult time passing. News coverage of
this program has made it clear that very few people on all sides like what is
being proposed.
It is clear that something
needs to be done about the millions of people who have come to the United
States illegally and settled here. A sense of entitlement has ensued with some
of the younger members whose parents came here many years ago. Because these
individuals were mostly born here or arrived when very young, it is
understandable that they have these feelings. Unfortunately, they are paying
for the behavior of their parents when they do not have the rights of legal
citizens. It must be a terrible dilemma for them, not really belonging to any
world. One often hears about previous waves of immigrants who came to this
country, but what is often ignored and not mentioned is that the majority of
them came with legal documentation, which then allowed them to become legal
citizens here.
Many of today’s illegal
residents work in agriculture which are jobs that American citizens, for the
most part, are not interested in doing. For example, years ago, Valley ranches
used to hire high school kids to move irrigation pipe in the morning and then
the young people would go to the beach for the afternoon. Nowadays, mostly
Mexican-Americans do this work for a variety of reasons. I don’t know if
Anglo-Americans “won’t” do this job because, at least at my ranch the pay is
better than fast-food restaurants, there are many other reasons for the
change. Many agricultural
locations have changed to automatic sprinkler systems therefore they don’t need
this type of work to be done any longer but we have not because it would have
meant cutting down a number of beautiful old oak trees located throughout our farm
fields. We chose not to. In addition, power companies have changed their
policies so that using irrigation pumps during the middle of the day, so-called
prime time, costs considerably more than during the night, early morning or
late afternoon so farmers tend to water during the non-peak hours thereby,
changing the timing of moving the sprinkler pipes. Furthermore, to complicate
the farmer’s life, employment law in recent years has changed to make it more
difficult to hire young people for part time jobs. In fact, employment laws in
general do not take into account farmer and rancher’s lives which is a topic
for another time.
I wonder how Congress
intends to solve the problem of illegal immigration. It is clear that most
everyone agrees that we must deal with this sooner than later, and control our
borders first, as quickly as possible to deter possible terrorist entry, although
to think that there are not terrorists in our midst already is just naïve. It
is equally naïve to think that we could or even should send them back to their
native countries, all twelve million people. Furthermore, to suggest that
illegals will return to their homelands once they receive their “Z” visas and
wait to be legally re-admitted is, in my opinion, also fraught with questions.
Some people are not here for economics but rather political asylum, even though
the US government may not recognize it.
Blame is not the answer
Putting the blame for this
problem on the shoulders of employers is not the answer either. Not all
employers knowingly hire people here illegally, finding, instead that their
employee has false documents that are impossible to detect from the real thing.
What are they to do since it is illegal to fire someone for being “illegal” in
the state of California?
A lot of people seem to be
opposed to the guest worker program because apparently, the bracero program of
the sixties had problems with moneys being sent to countries, and then the
money never reached the intended recipients. There is also concern about how to
verify that these “guest workers” have gone home when the contract is
completed. I believe that for many industries, guest workers are essential and
for that reason, some verifiable program needs to be put in place in a
reasonable timeframe.
Finally, there is some
legitimate concern over why these people who have disrespected the laws and
sovereignty of the United States should be given citizenship at all. Whether
they go to the head of the line, in front of people who have waited for many
years to be accepted for citizenship, is really not an issue. What is the issue
seems to be whether these folks should be rewarded with citizenship after
breaking our laws. There is no other country in the world that would even give
these issues a second thought- this situation simply would not be tolerated. It
is flattering to think that this country is so desirable as a place to call
home, but I believe we need to have enough respect for ourselves that while we
may be a refuge for citizens from troubled countries around the world, we do
not become the dumping ground for people who have no respect for other
countries’ laws. Making people citizens simply because they might ultimately
vote one way or another is a self-serving reason which will not necessarily be
good for the country in the end. So I ask, how do we resolve this?
Sad times
The calves were shipped
this week for sale. They were all about 200 pounds lighter than usual but they
had to move to pastures in another part of the country where they had a better
winter than we did and have more grass for them to eat. It is always a sad time
because the momma cows are all bawling for their babies and the humans who look
after them remember that, not too many months ago, we were all anxiously
looking forward to the arrival of the first few calves of the season. The first
one born is always a bit forlorn until the second one is born. Then the two of
them tear around, tails flung over their backs, having the time of their lives
playing. They run and jump until they are so tired they have to lie down and
take a small nap. Their moms look on with amusement it seems, perhaps
remembering when they were that age. As a human, it appears to be just like
human children playing although we can’t actually be sure of that. It is a
joyful time, however, and one we look forward to each year. This time of year,
when the calves go to new homes, is sad maybe more for us humans than the
bovine moms. They forget in a couple of days that this year’s calves are gone
as they resume their normal behavior and wait for the arrival of this year’s
calf. It is a transition time that cattle men and women repeat each and every
year. Like life in general, there are happy times and sad times.
Growing pains
Like in all new businesses,
the growth of The Santa Ynez Valley Journal, in all modesty, has been simply
meteoric. We have, apparently, filled a void in the news business that has long
been in existence. Your response to our efforts has been simply phenomenal and
we would like to thank all of you for your support. The advertisers have been
more than happy to see us go weekly, the contributors have all stepped up to
the plate in turning out more articles than before and the employees have, in
turn, generated the paper you hold in your hands today.
It is awe-inspiring to see
the efforts that go into bringing you the very latest information on what is
happening in your community. We have some terrific new employees and writers
that I am sure you will enjoy meeting. It is our hope that you will forgive our
periodic glitches, which occur in our attempt to keep up with our production
while growing at such a fast rate.
From the very beginning, we
have been dedicated to bringing you all of the important happenings, some of
which none of the other media will cover. It is our intent to provide you with
as much information as possible so that you may make up your own opinion as to
how you feel about a given topic. For newcomers, it is our hope that you will
develop a feel for this community and the people in it. Our feature on people
who have lived here a long time gives you an idea of the sorts of wonderful
individuals who have helped shape the Valley to what it is today.
If there are issues you
would like us to investigate, please feel free to contact us. We want to cover
what you want to know about. This is your community and your paper. To the best
of our ability, we will provide you with the latest information we can get our
hands on.