Arizona Immigration Law

After reading all blogs by my classmates about the Arizona immigration law, the post that stuck out the most to me was the blog by Ms. Political entitled, “Napolitano calls Arizona immigration law a ‘cry of frustration’”. I can see why Arizona is frustrated about their immigration situation, but I agree that they are going way over board with their new law. Why not hold the people that are doing the hiring of illegal aliens accountable? Why can’t we stop employers from hiring illegal aliens to begin with? Oh yeah, they are one of special interest groups we learned about in our Government class.

If you stop the work then you stop the migration of illegal aliens for it. There are many workers in the U.S. that are here legally. Many of them are skilled craftsmen and have been apprentices for many years. If other states follow suit with Arizona it will scare many skilled workers that are here legally. They don’t want to be harassed anymore than I do. I think that part of the problem is that many people see workers over here working and assume that they are probably illegal when they are in fact legal. There is no law as to what they should be paid; they are typically paid a lot less than a white worker doing the same work.

Something needs to be done. Our workforce is suffering because our young workforce has gotten too technologically savvy to want to spend hours doing the same thing day after day just to make enough to feed their family. Many people who are legal immigrants have waited their whole lives for a chance to come to the U.S. I think the problem is that many of them are here and they are legal and they will work for less pay. I am not of the opinion, as many people are, that these illegal aliens are going to steal our jobs. I think a wrong is being committed but not at the cost of our civil liberties. The immigration issue does concern many but the many that are concerned are likely ones who wouldn’t do that same job if their life depended on it.

BLOG VII

Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to our government. The more an individual knows about how our government works, the more an individual citizen can come to realize that he or she does matter in the grand scheme of our democracy. In learning about our government, I have learned the power of special interest groups and how much power “We the People” do have. I have come to learn about the players in our government, the roles they play, and how much public opinion matters to them.

I served in the military and many people asked why I did it. I had a family, I had a decent job; so why do it? I told them that it was an honor for me to be in the shoes of our foundering fathers - in a woman’s body . I really didn’t realize until taking this class how many freedoms we really do enjoy and, more often than not, take for granted. I have come to appreciate that our court system is there to protect those rights. I have come to change my opinion about special interest groups, especially since I am a member of several Profession groups. I am not going to say I like this country being run by the special interest groups and lobbyists, but these groups have their place. We rely on our elected representatives to make the right decisions about the legislation that is presented before them. One of the power tools that I have as well as all of us is freedom of speech. We have the right to write our congressmen if we have a concern. We have the right to rally others together and protest our government. Large groups are not easily ignored.

We have a well established system of checks and balances. I know our system is not perfect and not for everyone in the world, but it works here so well that many have endured extreme hardship seeking our system. I have gotten a taste of government serving as a delegate for the Hilary Campaign. I serve as treasurer for my HOA. Government is everywhere and for everyone and sometimes you don’t have to seek it.

The seeds that have been planted while taking this government class give me a sense of awareness that I did not have before. I can be more assertive in conversations and can establish my position on the issues. At times I was like several others in our country, wondering if it matters what I think, what I do and who I vote for if the government is going to do whatever it wants and take whatever it wants from whoever it wants. This was my ignorance. I hope to pass along what I have learned to others.