Whatever your take on the myriad problems of illegal immigration, you have to be impressed with the demonstrations seen this week in cities all over the country. In this day and age of photo ops, soundbites, and handpicked, carefully screened "town halls," there's something singularly unique about so many everyday people--not just activists--getting out and speaking their minds over a cause they feel so strongly about. Sure, there are there are undoubtedly young people whose participation stemmed more from their poor preparation for an algebra test than any substantive concern about the immigration debate. But on the vast scale we witnessed, such cynical dismissals just don't hold up.
500,000 in Los Angeles, alone.
This is what people do when they care. This is what people do when they're angry. This is what people do when they've decided that they will not stay silent one moment longer. When it comes to the so-called "American Spirit," what could exemplify it better?
Amazing.
And yet...disheartening, all the same.
Why haven't we seen this sooner? Between dying, spying, and lying, has there really been nothing over the past five years that warrants this type of action? More than once this week, I've heard individuals--each, doubtlessly, believing that he was the first to show such rapier-like wit--say that we'd solve the immigration problem by fencing in the protesters and checking for green cards. What those deep thinkers fail to see, is that the people thronging the streets aren't the problem, they're a solution. One that shows all of America what it really means to care about this country and the value of your place in it.
The smattering of deaf ears aside, here's to the lesson not coming too late.
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