Friday, January 7, 2011

Hyperlink Activity

Alex L. how about an Animal Farm like scenario where a a bunch of animals create an organized communist/socialist government.  They promise each other free health care, but when someone gets sick the government tells everybody that the sick animal is going to the "hospital," when really they are being turned into food.

Or how about Peter A. who talked about gun control.  Maybe a society of bears that decide that the use of their teeth was too violent.  They banned using their teeth in any situation.  Then they all starved to death and or were killed by otherwise-harmless animals because they were unable to hunt or defend themselves. 
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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

The Border War


The Border War
Over the last century the United States has developed an addiction to illegal drugs.  This addiction has fueled drug cartels in Mexico that have grown into murderous crime organizations which cross over into the human-trafficking businesses.  The presence of these drug cartels along our borders is detrimental to the United States because it only worsens our dependence on illegal drugs, poses a national security risk, and lowers the standard of living for citizens on the American side of the border.  The United States should take aggressive military action and change its policy in order to stop the ongoing violence along the Mexican-American border.

Section 1:  The History of the Conflict

    Mexican Drug Cartels target the United States because of its overwhelmingly large market for illegal drugs.  Drug cartels have been around since the early 20th century, and can be traced back to Colombia (Auerbach).  Initially drug activity in Mexico was mostly a result of the Colombian-American drug trade, however recently the cartels have moved north become based in Mexico (Auerbach).  Trafficking illegal substances is merely one negative aspect of the presence of cartels because “violence has always been attached to the drug smuggling trade, as has political corruption” (Auerbach).  Accounts of cartel violence include torture, beheading, kidnapping, and assassination of public officials (Holt).  The Mexican government is unable to effectively fight cartel activity because it has “become so entrenched [in corruption] that the drug cartels seemingly meshed with [it]” (Auerbach).  Because of the lack of government control in Mexico, the power of the cartels goes practically unchecked.  
    There is a great deal of controversy surrounding the extent to which the United States should go in order to protect the border.  Controversy was sparked recently when Arizona passed S.B. 1070, which “requires a reasonable attempt to be made to determine the immigration status of a person during any legitimate contact made by an official or agency of the state [of Arizona] or a county, city, town or political subdivision if reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the U.S.” (Holt).  This bill is revolutionary because it marks the first time that a state government has taken aggressive action to solve an immigration issue, however it sparked a controversial firestorm across the country.  Political scrutiny of S.B. 1070 has come from a wide variety of people including a former Governor of Arizona, the President of Mexico, and even Barack Obama (Shipman).  Opponents to the bill claim that it is unconstitutional because it encourages racial profiling, and even the Mexican government released a statement that "it should be assumed that any Mexican citizen could be bothered and questioned for no other reason at any moment"  (Shipman).  Despite strong opposition, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has publicly supported the bill stating that she "firmly believe[s] [the law] represents what's best for Arizona,” because “border-related violence and crime due to illegal immigration are critically important issues for the people of [Arizona], to [her] administration, and to [her] as [Arizona’s]  governor and as a citizen" (Shipman).  Regardless of the policy, any attempt to fix our nation’s border security problems will involve a heated debate from every side.  


Section 2:  The Problems

    The increasing presence of drug cartels along the American-Mexican border hurts America’s “War on Drugs.”  As drug cartels in Mexico continue to grow stronger, more and more illegal drugs flow into the United States.  Smugglers have found advanced ways to ship their drugs through the borders.  Accounts of these odd tactics include the use of small aircraft (Holton), as well as the use of hidden compartments in vehicles (Drugs with).  Border patrol agents have even found packages of drugs covered in hot sauce in order to confuse drug sniffing dogs (Drugs with).  As more drugs continue to successfully cross the border into the United States, the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (D.E.A.) “War on Drugs” is becoming increasingly difficult.  
    The human trafficking industry, which the drug cartels have become increasingly involved with, poses a large threat to our national security because we are simply unable to keep track of who or what enters our country.  Every year thousands of Mexican citizens seek refuge in the United States via illegal means (Rich).  This is detrimental to our society because the “US cannot sustain a limitless flow of foreigners into the country” (Rich).  Additionally, in our post-9/11 world, “it is important for the US government to know who is entering the country, how long they are staying and the reasons these individuals have for seeking entry into or permission to remain in the US” (Rich).  The constant undocumented flow of Mexican citizens across the border is a large threat to the security of our nation.  
As the drug cartels continue to move north into the United States, cartel-related theft and violence in the United States is at an all time high.  This increased crime rate seriously damages the standard of living of the hardworking American citizens in our border towns.  Citizens, such as H.L. Cooper, speak openly about a new life style that is rapidly being forced upon them (Holton).  In an interview, Cooper stated that violence “has been getting worse and worse,” and that they are no safer because they “are right in the middle of it” (Holton).  Cooper goes on to say that "We used to hike all over the desert out here. Anymore now, we don't go out without being armed" (Holton).  The realistic fear of cartel related violence north of the border is becoming an increasingly large part of life and places a completely unfair burden upon the hard working citizens of our border towns.


Section 3: The Solutions

    While there are currently actions put in place to protect our borders, these actions are simply not enough because they lack consistency, severity, and sincerity.  Right now, “the current customs checkpoints and border protections are woefully inadequate for meeting these standards” (Rich).  The methods being used are more as a show of force, which unfortunately the United States is unable to back up.  In his article, Mr. Rich states that “maintaining a permeable border only sends the message that our laws are unenforceable, or even worse, optional” (Rich).  This message severely undermines the authority that the United States government has in the United States, and is being broadcast to the world every time our border laws are successfully violated.  Because the violation of the Mexican-American border is detrimental to our society, stronger action is justified and needed.  
    The aggressive introduction of military force is essential to protecting our borders.  Because the cartels are large and well armed, the only effective way of physically stopping wrongdoers is by introducing a large and well armed force of our own.  The United States should send a strong message to the drug cartels through the use of military force.  This military force should include 10,000 National Guardsmen who’s duty it will be to moniter and enforce our nation’s laws. While the hostile invasion of Mexico is certainly not needed, if needed, the use of some American Military personnel in Mexico is justified because “this issue is no longer a domestic one--it is one that threatens the American way of life as well” (Auebach).  The only way to stop the extremely powerful and well armed Mexican Cartels from entering the country is through the use of our nation’s military.
    A change in public policy is also essential to fighting drug cartels.  The current regulations in place simply distribute a “slap-on-the-wrist” to those who violate our nation’s borders.  Punishment for violating border-related laws should be strict and consistent to send a message to future violators.  While Arizona’s S.B. 1070 is good first step in reforming border security it is simply not enough.  Every year there are thousands of crimes committed by people who are in this country illegally.  Frequently, the only punishment for these criminals is deportation.  Deportation is not an effective means of punishment because it is merely an inconvenience to offenders, and lacks severity.  The United States needs to implement more aggressive penalties for people who commit crimes during their illicit stay in the United States in order to truly deter people from breaking the law.
    In conclusion, the United States government should confront the issues being caused by the drug cartels in Mexico by using aggressive military force and by reforming our laws and penalties for violating the nation’s borders.  If ever the government were to take the blatant initiative to protect its citizens, now should be the time because the issue at hand is one that will affect Americans for many generation to come.
 

Works Cited

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