Borders
Here in California, one of the popular topics is immigration and protecting our borders. People are always talking about how to deal with illegal immigration. However, I find the concept of national borders flawed.
When land is originally purchased or granted, it makes sense because it comes from the government. What doesn’t have a solid explanation is how the government can claim ownership of the land in the first place. I guess it basically comes down to calling dibs on an area.
The only thing allowing us to safely claim our territory is the ability to enforce the claim with force from the military. On a moral standpoint, one can choose not to recognize the borders that separate nations. Obviously, the real world is a different story.
In an ideal world, any person should be allowed to move to any part of the planet as they wish, restricted only by what is physically possible. It shouldn’t matter where they happened to be born. But in reality, we are all restricted by some invisible hypothetical lines dividing the earth.
It’s also interesting to note that many other species of animals have the same tendency to claim territory and protect it with force.
On Immigration
I find it silly that we go to such great lengths to control who can cross the border. We put up these massive walls and devote a lot of resources to patrolling those walls (mostly talking about the US/Mexico border; I don’t know much about the Canadian border). I think it sends a really negative message to put up walls to keep people out.
I understand the need to control the flow of people into the country, but it should be for the right reason. The only reason I support is the protection of the citizens from criminals and terrorists. Since this is far from an ideal world and people want to do bad things, protecting the borders is a necessary evil.
An example of a reason I don’t support is that the immigrants will “take our jobs.” I just think this comes from an unfounded sense of entitlement. And I obviously strongly disagree with any racially motivated reasons.