This is a first draft to which I hope others in the community will contribute. I reserve the right to amend my beliefs as new ideas and new information are presented. I invite everyone to share what they “believe” regarding immigration, and /or, the rising tide of extremism.
* I believe in the words of John Locke:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights”.
* I believe, that immigration, has throughout our history, and will remain, a very contentious issue
* I believe, that we have a broken immigration system that needs modern reform
* I believe, our government has a responsibility to mandate that the people who live or work here, acquire proper legal status
* I believe, the solutions must stem from fiscal responsibility (not analysis based on fear but on solid objective sources), they must be humane, and they must be reasonably enforceable, and above all, they must exemplify the true meaning of a nation built upon immigrants
* I believe, that how we frame the debate, with the words we choose, is as important as the solutions themselves
* I believe, that we are experiencing, as a nation, a time when division has once again reared its ugly head
* I believe, that certain localities, more than others in this nation, are struggling under a rapid changing demographic and that the local, state, and federal government could do more to address the concerns of those citizens
* I believe, that I do not know all the answers to immigration, but I do know, that framing the debate with fear and hate, will bring us no productive solutions
