I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed

Re:I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American an... by crimsonalucard on Tuesday June 23, 2015 @12:37PM (#9765777)

Moral imperatives do not always correlate with survival imperatives. I'm not going to say whether or not I believe in immigration, but there are two things I will say:

1. Arguments against immigration stem not from moral imperatives, but from survival instinct.

2. If we open up immigration, America as we know it will change dramatically, in either a good or bad way. I think what we have now is already pretty good, so why change the status quo?

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Re:I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American an... by vezzy-fnord on Tuesday June 23, 2015 @01:02PM (#9765950)

Firstly, America as we know it has been changing dramatically and continuously since its inception. I don't see anyone mourning the loss of the Bourbon Democrats or tariff acts, but suffice to say they aren't here anymore.

Secondly, what are you referring to by "what we have now"? Immigration law in particular, or U.S. policy on a macro level?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American an... by crimsonalucard on Tuesday June 23, 2015 @02:42PM (#9766760)

>Firstly, America as we know it has been changing dramatically and continuously since its inception. I don't see anyone mourning the loss of the Bourbon Democrats or tariff acts, but suffice to say they aren't here anymore.

It's been changing, sure, but the change you address is different from the change of say dropping a nuclear bomb on all our major cities or discovering sources of unlimited, zero-emission energy. The change I'm talking about, which is eliminating immigration law completely by making ANYONE able to come here is entirely different from the "continuos change since inception" that you're addressing.

By "what we have now" I mean the state of everything as it is today. The economy, the people, our values, our resources. When you increase the population and let ANYONE in, all of these things will change.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American an... by danielweber on Tuesday June 23, 2015 @03:40PM (#9767208)

Whatever "what we have now" is, it is good, by assumption, because people are trying to get into it.

Therefore it's worth asking if that "whatever it is" will remain good in the face of any proposed changes.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American an... by mac01021 on Tuesday June 23, 2015 @09:04PM (#9768919)

If a nation faces some future peril due to some degree of overpopulation, while the world as a whole faces greater future peril due to a markedly larger degree of overpopulation, then the people of that nation are likely better off not opening their borders. I have yet to decide whether the present situation of the USA fits this description, but it is at least not far fetched.

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Re:I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American an... by Flimm on Tuesday June 23, 2015 @12:41PM (#9765805)

You seem to be talking exclusively about the survival of the American economy, rather than then the survival of humankind.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American an... by pessimizer on Tuesday June 23, 2015 @01:06PM (#9765991)

You seem to be talking exclusively about the comfort of well-educated people who would prefer to live in the US and have the resources to emigrate, rather than the survival of humankind.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American an... by crimsonalucard on Tuesday June 23, 2015 @02:47PM (#9766805)

Let me make it utterly clear: I am absolutely talking only about the survival of the American economy.

I'm a descendent of immigrants born to poor circumstances. I'm lucky to be here as a result of getting past strict immigration policies. But I gotta be real, If America tried to "save" every one on the face of the earth by letting everyone in need into this country, we'd probably triple our population, and change the state of everything.

[ Parent | on HN ]