Casual
STELZER, IRWIN M.
Casual A THANKSGIVING MELTING POT On Thanksgiving Day, my wife and I woke up in a hotel in New York, where we'd come en route to a festive lunch with old friends. A waiter of Middle Eastern origin...
...Start with the proposition that anyone who cannot or will not work, and therefore needs public assistance, should be turned away or sent home when that circumstance becomes apparent, the sole exception being those demonstrably fleeing persecution...
...Require that newcomers learn English in a year or so, or be returned to the country whose language is the only one they speak...
...The proprietor, named Mohammed, seems to have converted a space smaller than most American kitchens into a supermarket of everyday necessities...
...But that's a tale for another day...
...By all means, let them keep their native customs, so long as these do not impinge on the freedoms of others, or involve hostility to the democratic values of the country in which they seek to prosper...
...But adhere to these principles, enshrine them in law and policy, and we will continue to give thanks for the fact that we live in a country that attracts the young, the vigorous, and the upward questing...
...With these minimal conditions, we can provide an open door to the immigrants we need to add to our work force, to add to our tax base, and to add to the richness and color of the American tapestry...
...Then, when we found we were running early, we stopped in a food shop cum restaurant for coffee, a shop, it turned out, owned and manned by a group of Hispanics...
...Sure, these are merely broad principles, tinged perhaps with a bit of the romanticism that has always made America exceptional...
...Add only one requirement to work: assimilation...
...And sure, these broad principles need fleshing out by legislators attentive to the details that convert fine principles into good legislation, and that protect any rights to which noncitizens might be entitled...
...To hell with polls that seem to show we are less and less popular around the world: The best and the brightest vote with their feet, and their feet bring them to our shores...
...Yes, we also get our share of malingerers and troublemakers...
...Then back to the city, where the African-American doorman, the first person we had seen all day who was born in this country, helped us with our packages...
...That's merely an intelligent use of probability analysis...
...A waiter of Middle Eastern origin brought us our breakfast—not a remarkable event by itself...
...Concentrate instead on sorting out just who should be welcomed here with open arms...
...But consider the rest of our day...
...As we left the hotel, we stopped at the concierge's desk, presided over by a Chinese gentleman, to arrange some FedEx deliveries...
...More important, the newcomers are young, and if we get our assimilation policies right, they and their offspring will keep the average age of our population from soaring, and prevent our Social Security system from collapsing under the weight of a population that superior health care and pharmaceuticals are enabling to live longer than FDR ever dreamed when he put in place the pension system that may be his most enduring legacy—if we have the wit to adapt it to new circumstances...
...On to lunch, presided over by an Australian-born American and his Chinese wife, served by Middle European staff...
...Leave aside the question of keeping out terrorists—a chore that would be greatly simplified and improved if we were willing to admit that an Arab whose passport shows stopovers in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia is worthier of scrutiny by our stretched-thin security personnel than an 80-year-old Italian nun in a wheelchair...
...Should they preach hostility, let them receive a prompt and, if possible, polite invitation to move on...
...IRWIN M. STELZER...
...Into the car, driven by a young man newly arrived from Romania, with a stop on Lexington Avenue to pick up the New York and British papers—from one of those tiny shops that sell hundreds of magazines, newspapers from all over the world, batteries, ChapStick, and an infinite variety of lottery tickets...
...But if we had the political will, we could improve the quality of the intake—so the enemy is us, not them...
...First reaction: Add to all we have to give thanks for the fact that this country retains its ability to accept immigrants who are willing to work, and that such people still see America as a beacon of light and opportunity in a troubled world...
...No policy wonk can let such a day pass without comment...
...So admit those ready, willing, and able to work—and end their stay if work proves too onerous a requirement for eventual citizenship...
...The relevant reflections on our melting pot Thanksgiving relate to immigration policy...
...A German woman greeted us at the desk...
Vol. 9 • December 2003 • No. 14
