Trump's Great Wall of Controversy

I haven't shared anything about the wall online. Not because I've been hesitant to stir up controversy—those that have followed my blog for very long know that I love to discuss the untalkable subjects half the world fears to think about — but because I've been very unsettled in my own thoughts concerning the wall.

And even after much thought and study, I'm still not completely sure what I think.

But I think I am finally ready to share what I am currently thinking. I just ask one thing, all my friends (trolls, too). Please read to the end before commenting. And please bear with me. I will try to share cautiously so as not to needlessly offend anyone, and I ask that no-one look for offense where it's not intended, which I do not intend ever. 

Most of my Trump Wall "research" I have heard through podcasts or my Dad.

I've tried to listen to a variety of opinions, but most of my media intake has been pro-wall.


Pro-wall: Louder With Crowder, Michael Knowles, Ben Shapiro, Yaron Brook
Anti-Wall: My dad, What Trump Can Teach Us About Con-Law



What Are Some Arguments Against the Wall?

• Nancy Pelosi is known for having said, "The fact is, a wall is an immorality. It’s not who we are as a nation." But this is quite laughable coming from a lady who says pre-born babies aren't humans. She may be a nice lady, but I do not trust her judgment on immorality in the least, nor do I trust her on who she believes we are as a nation. And not just because she's pro-abortion, but because she's for many other things that are very unconstitutional and what our country was founded on. 

• But Pope Francis' words have touched many hearts. He said, "In the social and civil context as well, I appeal not to create walls but to build bridges." In many ways I think more highly of many of my Catholic friends than the majority of Protestants and I'm a huge fan of Matt Walsh, but I have even less respect for the Pope than Nancy Pelosi. I'm sorry, but this man seems to laugh God in the face by disregarding scripture and sin in the name of "loving everyone". I do not follow the Pope as closely as some, but what I've seen of him tells me that he does not care about righteousness but about condoning sin to appease the sinner. Of course, such a man would ignore anything of consequence and say, "Build bridges". 

Three More Arguments Against the Wall:

1. We Are a Nation of Immigrants

Such people as my dad (Libertarian leaning) also believe walls are immoral. But not for quite the same reasons as Nancy Pelosi and the Left. They believe in a free-for-all with very little government control. People should be allowed to come and go as they please, just as we did once many hundreds of years ago.
After all, we were once immigrants.
Or were we?
If you look into any history textbook, a majority of the people that came her had written/ verbal permission from their King. They came not as immigrants but as settlers. Which is kinda the same thing, but not really. It was a completely different situation. And laws were established and still had to be followed through. It wasn't a free for all, "Let's go to America!".
But that aside, we are no longer even a nation of settlers because we settled and tamed the land. This land is now a part of who we are and we have cut off any ties to any other place we once lived. America is our ethnicity, not Europe.
Those coming here are not wishing to break off ties from their old life but are coming for something called Welfare (except a select few which I'll talk about in a moment).
We are not a nation of immigrants. We are not an immigrant nation. We are Americans.

3. Walls Don't Work But Keep the Good People Out as the Bad People Keep Doing What They Do.

My Dad likes to use this video of a Mexican politician climbing the wall as a humorous example of how walls don't work and are unnecessary. But he forgets a few key things.
We aren't just going to leave that thing sitting to let people crawl over and come and go as they please.
There's something wrong with the argument that walls don't work, namely that walls do work. Watch the Michael Knowles video I linked above.

A fence between neighbors doesn't create tension but sets healthy boundaries that work. Locking your front door doesn't guarantee that robbers won't break in, but fewer robberies are likely to happen, and the robbery that does happen will be considerably more troublesome and pricey for the robber. Fences around farms don't keep all the animals out and in as desired, but it keeps the majority of animals where you want them.
I think half of everyone's fears is that the wall will work too well. And this fear is actually understandable. But I will deal with it in a bit.

As for the good people, the ideal wall, from what I have heard, will allow people to come in once they've been approved. Good people will have the opportunity to enter and bad people will have less opportunity to do so.

 2. It's Racist to Have a Wall — Why Aren't We Building a Wall Between us and Canada?

No, it's not racist.
America isn't hating on a specific race — we aren't hating on anyone. But we aren't saying we don't want Mexicans. In fact, large portions of America is and always will be Mexican-American. But the wall is just suggesting that the neighboring countries of American and Mexican keep to their own soils and not trespass whenever they feel like just because the grass looks greener on the other side of the invisible line.
And the reason we aren't building a wall between us and Canada isn't that Canada is predominately white, but because:

• Canada isn't tempted by our welfare system; they have it pretty good and have a strong national pride. 
• The borders between Canada and the USA are already pretty tight. It's much easier to cross over into Mexico than it is into Canada. 

"But . . . We Should Be Opening Our Arms Wide to the Mexican Refuges." 

• They aren't refugees. Refugees are people who are fearing for their lives (think Syrian and North Korean Christians) not people wanting free food and housing. 
• We should be loving to all. But love isn't not owning land anymore so that whoever may live in your backyard for free while you continue to work. That's called Communism, not love. 
• Even when we help those persecuted, we need to be cautious to be actually helping the persecuted and not those disguised as the persecuted. Basically, make sure to be letting the good guys and not the bad guys into your country. Which involves screening and security. 
• Again, building a wall doesn't mean we don't love them. We can still be neighbors and go visit one another. But at the end of the "day" we each return to our own homes.

"Mexicans Are Taking Our Jobs and Not Giving to Society" 

I.e., "They Aren't Paying Taxes And It's Not Fair"

I'm a huge fan of capitalism and less/ flat-rate taxes. I also am a believer in work ethics. I know many more Mexicans than white guys that actually know how to work and keep at it. And you know what? Those Mexicans might be making it tough for the few hard-working white guys that do exist. But you know what? That's capitalism. Deal with it. 

Those Mexicans, legal or otherwise, are giving to society. They are building homes. They are doing tasks that many white guys think below them. They are giving work to white guys who can't find it elsewhere. They are even hiring white girls to babysit their kids. They might not pay income taxes, but they pay many other sorts of taxes we forget about (gas, food, even some licenses, and permits) and they don't live on welfare. They work. 

Those sort of Mexicans, legal or otherwise, I believe are great people and anyone who hates them should be ashamed of themselves. If only these sort of Mexican's existed I'd propose that we trade Mexico for all their people and give them out lazy millennials. 

But, the sad thing is that the majority of Mexicans aren't those that are here for work, but here for welfare. 

Why are People Coming Here?

Except for the few that do come for work, most are immoral people drawn by the American dream also known as "welfare and sanctuary cities".

America is a sticky trap for vermin, for lack of a better word. And when the trap is full it's no longer of any use, and must be thrown out with its prey. This is no one's fault but America's. We shouldn't have ever created such a system that baits people toward doom.

We are trying to bandage our mistake by building a wall, but the issue is much deeper. Our government put its nose where it doesn't belong and has lost all sense of smell and direction. 

The welfare system is a beautiful idea. But that is not the federal government's job. The church and local community were meant to feed the people (1 John 3:17, Galatians 2:10, Deuteronomy 15:11).

But the majority of churches were too caught up in overseas mission work to have time for those in their own community. And so the federal government was left to feed the poor. But without religion, how could they teach the poor to learn to feed themselves? Welfare has backfired and let the church further off the hook and made people more dependent. 

Until the Church takes responsibility a wall will never completely fix the crisis our nation is under. Until the Church opens it's heart to the poor, and hungry, and homeless, and imprisoned in our own country, our country will continue to sink. 

Why Does Trump Want to Build A Wall?

My final reservation about the wall is, "Why?"

And I mean to say, "What is Trump's personal motivation? Evil or good, or what?"

And after some further thought, the answer seems to be clear. Trump is both businessman and contractor and this is a great political maneuver of business. I believe business is noble, just as work, and in this one area, Trump has much in common with the hard-working-"job stealing"-Mexicans. 

I don't believe this reason makes or breaks the building of a wall. I think it's a moot point, but still a good point to consider. 

Am I For The Wall Or Against It?

Honestly, neither. 

I like the idea of a wall. And no, it doesn't make me think of the Berlin wall. That was built in-country and represented government tyranny. We have so many better examples of walls actually working. Such as the Israel wall. Walls to define borders, and countries, like families, need borders in order to function and thrive and co-exist. 

But the idea of a wall with how our country currently is also frightening. I am not worried about those on the outside of the wall, but those of us on the inside. I already strongly dislike how security and TSA infringe on our privacy in the name of "maybe". It makes sense to check borders for terrorists, to make sure anyone that enters your home-land is truly a friend and not a foe. But it is wrong to continually treat your own family hostile. How will this wall affect those of us? How could the government use this wall against us? 

This could be bordering conspiracy theory. 

But then any great tragedy was preluded by such "conspiracy theories". 

I would be for a wall or barrier of sorts if our government were half as moral as Israel's government. 

Right now . . . I'm not so certain. But it's clear we have issues that need to be fixed, and our government has every right to fix them. Because this is their job just as the job of feeding the poor and homeless is the Church's. 

Final Thoughts . . . 

• It is not immoral to have boundaries, whether it be personal, relational, home, or country. 
• A wall is a bandage. Bandages aren't evil, but the wound still needs to be cleansed.
• The government needs to give up the welfare system and hand it over to the Church. 
• The Church needs to take responsibility for the poor and homeless of our country. They need to remember to love and pull themselves out of their mood of complacency. 
• Border security is necessary even after the issues are fixed, but that security should not infringe upon American's constitutional and natural rights. 
• Income taxes, insurance, TSA, and sanctuary cities are hurting the honest people of our country and abetting the dishonest. And I hardly touched on any of these issues, but do some research into the history of any and all of them. 
• If it's possible for the Church to man up, for the government to stay true to the constitution, and for people to be treated fairly, I'm for the wall. 
• If not . . . I'm not for the wall ;D 

Before posting this article I wanted to get a feel for what most of my Facebook friends believe about the wall. So I posted a poll and got quite a few interesting and hilarious comments.

I know that many people will be dissatisfied with my "vague" answer. Some will think it's immature or even unstable. But I will argue that my stance is justified for several reasons:

1. I'm not spouting opinion just to be doing so, but willing to learn and am sharing what I'm learning. 
2. Though the truth is absolute, it's rarely as black and white as we'd want it to be. The path of wisdom is textured by color, and those colors are complex to pull apart and study. Nevertheless, we must study our truth even if the answer is hard to find. 
3. It's not wrong to not know, what's wrong is to refuse to know or pretend to know. Wisdom is to be sought like precious silver, but like anything good, it will not be easy to come by. For this reason most of all I encourage my readers to be careful when coming to any conclusion about anything. Search for truth and test it against God's word. And continue to test it until an answer is revealed. But never, never stop and settle for an easy answer.

But . . . if you must have a solid answer, as I told one of my friends, my opinion on the wall would probably depend on who I'm talking to. If I'm debating with my Dad I'd say I'm pro-wall, but if I happened to be near Steven Crowder when he's doing one of his "Change My Mind" sessions I might tell him I'm anti-wall . . . just kidding, haha! Or am I? I do like "playing" the other side to learn more ;) Overall, I'm not against the wall. I think it's highly unlikely it'll ever be built, and probably best that it not be built because there are many other things we could be focusing on that if fixed could possibly make the wall unnecessary. 

So . . . are you for or against the building of the wall? And what do you think about my other thoughts?