Red Herring

A few days ago, as I was preparing students for their impending I.B. Spanish exam, we were reviewing some difficult texthandling questions in which there were several similar answers for a single question. I asked them to tell my why the false answers were “red herrings”. Most students had never heard the expression before. I realized I had to explain the meaning of “una pista falsa”, a distracter.

Distracters, or red herrings are nothing new in politics, but on cable “news”, they have virtually replaced news and information. Fox News’ “The War on Christmas”, for example, would have us believe that Christians are a persecuted minority in this country, that the universally observed Christian holidays as well as Christmas decorations, promotions, concerts, etc, are mere chimera and not reality.

So in November/December, instead of, applying the “Peace on Earth” message of that holiday to the war in Iraq, Fox News slips in the red herring “War on Christmas”, diverting the unwary viewer from real issues of war and peace, the gutting of our civil rights, or the true disasters revealed by Hurricane Katrina: our lack of preparedness and the overwhelming poverty in our society.

Fast forward and the House passes HR4337, a sweeping though regressive measure that would transform undocumented residence in this country from a misdemeanor to a felony and criminalize “aiding” an undocumented resident. Instead of focusing on the real debate, red herrings are introduced, ranging from Michelle Malkin’s rant that “Mexicans” are scheming to win the Southwest back for Mexico, to arguments over which flag to wave, and now to a move to make it illegal to sing the national anthem in any language other than English. (Not a masterpiece in any language!).

Why don’t we roll back all the flags and take a look at some of the real questions.

1. The Children. Children whose parents bring them here from Mexico or elsewhere did not choose to be “illegal”. In most cases their parents worked to support them, paid taxes and bought in this country. The children went to school here, most played by the rules, attended class, did their work, assimilated our language and culture. But most of all, they bought the American dream: work hard, get good grades, graduate from high school so you can go on to college/trade school and eventually become that working, tax paying American. But for these children, the end of the road comes when they can’t get that part-time job, they don’t qualify for students loans, can’t attend college and realize that they won’t fit into the American dream. Go back to your own country, they are told, but their dominant (in some cases only) language is English, their education is American, and in many cases, their roots are deeply in this country as well. Don’t we have a responsibility to these children? And don't these young adults have great potential for good in this country?

2. “I don’t have anything against immigrants; I just think ‘those people’ should wait their turn and not cut in front of the line”. This country is capricious, however, as to who gets to the front of the line. Cuban immigrants were sent straight to the front of the line; on the fast track not only for citizenship, but also for welfare eligibility. I think of Russian friends who also became eligible for welfare and legal immigration status immediately on entering the country. In this case, they applied for citizenship as soon as legally possible and were naturalized within a year. The irony is that the wife’s employer, who is latino and had lived legally in the U.S. for decades, had applied several years earlier and was not granted citizenship until years later. Who was moved to the front of the line and why? This country has a nasty little habit of creating a fast track to immigration for citizens of countries whose leaders they don’t like but sending others to the end of life if they come from countries whose dictators are friendly to us.

3. “Why are these immigrants complaining? Their country's immigration policies are worse than ours?” Admittedly, many countries do have more restrictive immigration policies than ours. However, HR4437 would be a major step in that wrong direction. If we are to become “the land of liberty and justice for all” as we so proudly proclaim, we need to protect the liberties we have and seek justice where it is lacking.

Perhaps the greatest red herring is criminalization of the debate. Calling human beings illegal immediately sets the tone. Working peacefully without the proper documents, living peaceably and following all other laws of the land is far different from theft, murder and mayhem. Under HR 4437, those who follow the Biblical precepts of "love your neighbor as yourself" and "Provide sustenance to the stranger for you were once strangers in Egypt" would become incitement to break laws. There is something terribly wrong in this country when humankindness is outlawed.

Maybe it is time to look behind the red herrings and see the humanity that is being condemned. As JFK said at the Berlin Wall, "Ich bin ein Berliner" , today and henceforth, I too, am Latina.