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Saturday, August 23, 2008
Americans Need to
Tear Down This Wall
by
Walter Brasch
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Walter Brasch is professor
of journalism at Bloomsburg University and president of the
Pennsylvania Press Club. He is the author of the critically-acclaimed
‘Unacceptable’: The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina (January
2006) and Sinking the Ship of State: The Presidency of George W. Bush
(November 2007), both available through amazon.com, borders.com, and
other bookstores.
You may contact Brasch at
brasch@bloomu.edu
or through his website at:
www.walterbrasch.com.
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The "star" of the
Olympics may not be multiple medalists but the Great Wall of China.
Every TV network covering the Olympics took the world to see the Wall.
It seemed as if almost every newspaper and magazine reporter also
visited the Great Wall.
But, the Great
Wall, which was built and rebuilt many times over its 22 century
history, eventually was a failure. Although formidable, and one of the
world's greatest engineering feats, the wall by the 16th century could
no longer protect China from neighboring armies.
The Maginot Line,
which France thought could protect it from Germany and Italy in the
decade leading up to World War II, was largely a failure.
The Berlin Wall, at
first barbed wire and then concrete, was built not to keep others out
but East Germans in. But, there were more than 5,000 escapes during
its 28 year history before the wall finally came down in 1989.
As we now know,
poorly-constructed levees in New Orleans didn't keep the flood waters
of Katrina from destroying the city.
And now the U.S. is
building its own wall. The Bush Administration is putting up about 700
miles of fencing and other barriers along the U.S./Mexico border by
the end of the year. The cost just to build that barrier is about
$2–$3 million per mile. But, in certain places, the cost far exceeds
that. This week, the government began excavating an area near San
Diego. When the three and one-half mile fence is finished, the cost
will be about $57 million. That's about $16 million a mile.
Most illegal
immigrants pose no problems. They don't receive American benefits,
contrary to a lot of Internet gossip. Most try to avoid getting into
trouble, since their purpose of being in America isn't to get noticed
by the police. And, for those who think putting up a wall will keep
terrorists out of the country, reflect upon this: The 9/11 hijackers
had American-issued visas to be in the U.S.
Like the great
Wall, the Maginot Line, the Berlin Wall, and the levees, this wall
will also fail, as persons desperate to enter the U.S. will find many
other ways to cross the border. But, Americans will have spent more
than $2 billion for that lesson.
comment on this article...
[Dr.
Brasch, an award-winning syndicated columnist, is professor of
journalism at Bloomsburg University and president of the Pennsylvania
Press Club. His latest book is Sinking the Ship of State: The
Presidency of George W. Bush (November 2007), available through amazon.com and other bookstores. You may contact Brasch at
brasch@bloomu.edu or through his website at:
www.walterbrasch.com.]
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