Dearest TD... peace to you!
Do past injustices have a bearing on whether you should be able to drive a black pickup truck in relative safety today?
They do, IMHO... and IMHO, they should. Meaning, the kind of thinking that fostered such "past injustices" is alive and well in the good old U.S. of A today... such that even today, they bear negatively on such ability, in some states... however, those "past injustices" SHOULD make it "relatively safe" for ANYONE to drive a black pickup truck today. It does not, however...
Do people in other states even understand the significance of the question above?
That's rhetorical, right?
If not, why do they seem to have such strong opinions about the situation in AZ?
Depends on which side of the argument you're referring to -
Don't forget, these people do pay taxes. No they don't. How can they pay taxes without a social security number?
The folks can't work without a social security number, dear Dark Side (peace to you!)... and so, contrary to VERY popular belief, they DO pay taxes. Unfortunately, they cannot collect the Social Security, Medicare, etc., that they pay into - THAT goes to the person whose social security number is being used. So, it's not ALL bad (though I do NOT agree with stealing other people's identitied, not at all! If we simply gave them their own SSNs, ones that indicate they are not citizens (like, but different from, green cards, perhaps), then we would simply TAX them for working here. I mean, it ain't like we don't need the revenue! Just make them pay a little more, so that less goes to Mexico (or wherever they're from) and more stays here. But let 'em work, for God's sake!
Because the AZ law has the potential to make life difficult for citizens who have committed no crime. Difficult? They have to carry an ID card. Who doesn't?
I don't. And I sometimes don't, one because I am a bit scattered brained sometimes and so forget my purse, because two, I hate carrying a purse (and the one I carry is quite small). So sometimes I just have my ATM card... and not even that, if I don't need it. True, I carry my ID when I'm driving, just in case I get pulled over, but even then, I'm not going to jail. I would just get a citation for "driving without a license," which citation I can make go away simply by presenting my license in court at a later date. I do carry ID when I'm out of state, for obvious reasons (i.e., in case I end up in the hospital).
Finally, I have to say that it really is not the employers or the illegals who are at fault here. It is the American people... who want more... for less... want to be paid more... for less work... or live at the poverty level and so can't afford even the basic necessities. It really is as simple as that.
Illegal immigrant labor, however, allows those of us who want to "live better" to do so... and those of us who wouldn't normally be able to do so afford food and other products needed for minimal daily life that the high wages a unionized American laborer might not permit (and yes, we all know they would unionize, and no, I am not against unionization if it really is necessary - i.e., to preclude dishonest management/labor practices. But union wages are indisputably high, dear ones). Which is why the FEDERAL government hasn't done anything about it - they KNOW the disasters that would come upon this country if such a law really did keep illegals out. It would drive up wages, which would drive up the cost of food, and other products and services that "we" have some to rely on on a daily basis. And THEN you would hear the outcry... because the welfare rolls wouldn't be able to handle the increase, and the rich would really get richer and the poor poorer. We would be thrust right into that "obscene prices for barley" prophesy.
So, while some employers use illegals, others have turned to labor abroad. And no one is to blame but the Amercian people... who want the "best"... for "less." Luxury costs, dear ones... one way or another: either in dollars... or in jobs.
If you disbelieve this truth, then you don't understand what the U.S. institution of slavery was REALLY all about. It was NOT about racism - racism was merely a "tool" contrived to make those who would otherwise have a problem with slavery overlook it (well, they're not really human, but only 3/5ths and so it's okay!). The U.S. institution of slavery was about FREE LABOR... which was "necessary" to build the wealth of this country. The land-owners and business moguls could NOT have gotten rich if they had to pay for all that labor. So, they paid the "minimum" - food, barely... clothing, barely... and shelter... barely. They tried it with the natives, who fought back... and the Irish and Scots... who went back. The Africans couldn't fight (they didn't know where they were and had no resources to fight, to even make weapons or to feed themselves while fighting)... and they certainly couldn't go back (where... and how?).
Illegal immigrantion is "illegal," as to man's laws, yes. Constructing laws that keep people from feeding themselves or their families, indeed from working to do so is "illegal"... and immoral... as to God's laws. If I am a christian... and my brother across the river is a christian... and I say to him, "Yes, there is work and food on this side of the river, but my government says you can't cross over to here to access them and so I can't let you because I must obey them," am I REALLY a christian? Truly, which law are we to obey FIRST? The law of MERCY? Or the law of obedience to the "superior authorities"? Something to think about...
Again, I bid you all peace!
A slave of Christ,
SA