The Great Wall

Barbarians, Tartars... they are a coming!

What about the Canadians?

Are we safe?

Events in recent days involving the Canadian conspiracy to amass 6 thousand pounds of ammonium nitrate fertilizer with the potential of producing a very big boom, prompts the Iconoclast to address the issue of illegal immigration and border security.

Prior to this week’s news in Canada, our national political leadership was focused 110 percent on providing security for the 2,000 miles of border between the United States and Mexico.

Isn’t it funny how one week can make such a big difference in how we look at things?

Now we can worry about providing security for the 4,000 miles of border between the United States and Canada also.

In rough numbers, that makes maybe 6,000 miles of border to worry about.

What to do? What to do?

How about… let’s build a wall? No… let’s build two walls!

Big walls! Very tall walls built of sturdy materials. Maybe they could be electrified. And of course, we will need lots of motion detectors and surveillance cameras. And guards too… lots of guards.

Why didn’t anybody think of this earlier?

The fact is… someone did: our own Virginia 5th District Congressman Virgil H. Goode, Jr.

Back in November, Representative Goode joined Representative Duncan Hunter of California proposed to build a sophisticated 2,000 mile long security fence along the border between the United States and Mexico. At that time, this project was estimated to cost from between $5 and $7 billion.

So, if the U.S / Mexican fence costs $5 to $7 billion, the U.S. / Canadian fence will add an additional $10 to $14 billion.

In the end, we are looking at maybe a total of $15 to $21 billion.

But who wants to put a price tag on the peace of mind we would have knowing that we are safe from illegal immigrants and/or terrorists? Besides, we all know how accurate the government is in estimating the cost of things. Really, it is best not to dwell on the cost question.

But seriously folks… let us stop and reflect on this idea for a minute before we get too carried away. I will admit it... I like simple answers to complex problems just as much as the next guy! But this idea of a great fence, whether it be 2,000 or 6,000 miles long is just silly.

It has been done before, albeit on a smaller scale. It was called the Great Wall of China and it was only 1,500 miles long. It was built to keep out the invading Tartars (much like modern day Canadians, Mexicans and terrorists).

Most historians characterize the security value of the Great Wall of China as a monumental failure, “astonishingly expensive to build, maintain and garrison” and as causing the diversion of scarce resources away from measures that could have actually made a difference in preventing the eventual fall of the Ming Dynasty.

But what do historians know anyway? When you stop to think about it, it is pretty easy to figure out what a dumb idea something was from the perspective of hind-sight.

Who knows? Maybe a Great Fence America will work...

Or maybe not...

So long as American businesses and citizens are motivated to hire illegal immigrants for the immediate financial advantage of avoiding paying higher wages and payroll taxes, I suspect there is no fence or wall high enough or sturdy enough to stem the tide.

It is kind of like the illegal drug problem: As long as there is a strong American demand for illegal drugs, those drugs will find their way across our borders somehow.

No one would disagree with the idea that border security is important. But please, let us deal with this problem more intelligently. U.S. immigration policy needs to address economic and social factors causing the basic problem. Only then will the problem be managable. By doing this, we might also make it more difficult for terrorists to hide in the netherworld of illegal immigration.

Perhaps our political leaders would be wiser to eschew the “simple answers” to complex problems and start looking for ways to invest our scarce resources for measures that will actually make a difference.