Truth Month - July 2024
Day 28 - A life raft cannot save everyone. You cannot help others if yours sinks
A life raft has a maximum capacity. If that capacity is exceeded, it will sink and all of those who trusted in being saved go down too. In a titanic life and death situation, hard choices may have to be made so that some survive. Perhaps the noble will sacrifice their spots, or real leaders will prioritize who is most deserving. It is not an easy position to be in for all involved.
In some sense, countries are like life rafts in a world of hardships and challenges. Sometimes countries are struck by disasters, they have failed leadership, or injustices happen through wars or persecutions. Other countries have prepared or been blessed with good fortune, and can provide assistance. But resources are never unlimited.
The first duty of the leaders of a country is to their people, not to all the peoples and countries of the world. As in the lifeboat example, any given country should first provide for its own people, and only then see about helping others. Maybe some individuals will choose to sacrifice their places or resources, but it should not be forced upon them. It is not just to force people to involuntarily provide sanctuary to a mass influx, knowing that it will ultimately harm or doom their way of life. Yes, it is also foolish.
We can apply this analogy to the massive influx of illegal immigrants who cross into countries without permission. Many countries allow for immigration in a controlled manner, especially when it will be a benefit to all. These legal immigrants are motivated and skilled to become productive members of society, and not a drain. Countries even provide for limited numbers of refugees, at times. But just as a life raft can only save so many people, countries are also so limited.
Overwhelmed borders result in numbers of illegal immigrants that swamp the social safety nets of countries. They have often become a drain, and also fail to assimilate into the existing culture. There is also an evident attitude of entitlement and lack of gratitude toward the country they invaded. Many Western countries are experiencing the influx of literally millions of people with fundamentally different values and religions, who rather than desiring to assimilate, want to replace or possess. Some of these countries are in danger of sinking, or becoming unrecognizable to the citizens who sacrificed to build it. Is it right to take needed resources away from existing needy (the poor, homeless, veterans, children,... ) and give that away to those who have come uninvited? Would it not be better to encourage them to build or fix their own life rafts, rather than to sink those of others?
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