Lessons From the French Revolution
{Many thanks to m for offering me his blog as my own personal soapbox and for his generous introduction. And to his readers for putting up with me and my crazy opinions.}
The Scarlet Pimpernel and a multitude of jokes ending with “Let them eat cake!” That’s pretty much the extent of most people’s knowledge of the French Revolution. Which is scary considering that history has a funny way of repeating itself.
There are a lot of reasons why the French Revolution of 1789 went down like it did. But many of them come back to the basic principle that there were a few aristocrats living high on the hog and whole ton of peasants living like, well, hogs. Marie Antionette & Louis XVI, when informed that the people had no bread to eat and were literally starving to death, famously declared “Then let them eat cake!” (Didn’t know where that saying came from? You’re welcome.)
You Are Marie Antionette
(Or possibly Louis, but given the two I’d much rather be her. Still - your call - no judging here!) We all are. Even the “poor” Americans are aristocrats compared to most of the world. But especially in comparison to our neighbors directly to the south.
And don’t think they don’t know it. For as seldom as we think of them (Name five cities in Mexico that aren’t border towns. Los Angeles doesn’t count. Neither does Tuscon. Okay fine, you can have El Paso. Whiners.) they think of us quite often. Mostly because their economy is largely tied to our economy. (Yes, m, I know it’s not completely tied and the peso has been doing well relative to the sinking of the dollar but overall our economies are intertwined.) They also are inundated with our culture (clothes, tv shows, soda pop, Lindsay Lohan) and, most importantly, our jobs. They cannot help but feel the economic disparity between their lives and ours. Ever driven into Nogales? Tijuana? Then you’ve felt it too.
They Are The Peasants
There are currently about 35.5 million illegal aliens currently residing and working in our country. When we think of them, which we don’t often do, it is usually in a hysterical manner: They’re stealing our jobs! Draining our health care system! Dealing drugs! Bringing gangs and other violent crime! Killing people! Diluting our culture! Giving people salmonella from their fragrant-yet-unhygienic Taco Wagons!
I’m not trying to mock. These are serious issues. And people are rightly concerned about them. (Especially the taco wagons. Seriously - have you thought about how they “wash” dishes with no running water? But their burritos… mmmm.) But it is the proposed methods for reforming immigration law that have me scared.
The Guillotine
Any time there is a large economic disparity in history, it corrects itself. Often violently, as the rich don’t like to give to the poor (see Hood, Robin). This has been demonstrated time and time again. Americans are used to thinking of themselves as the scrappy underdogs but we’re top of the heap now. So I would propose that our current immigration challenge isn’t how to keep “them” out but how to let them in an organized manner. Because if we don’t figure out a way to offer it to them now, fences-drones-minutemen-in-lawn-chairs notwithstanding, they will figure out a way to take it later. And it won’t be pretty. Society abhors an economic disparity. (Yeah I just made that rule up but it sounds all science-y, no?)
The Cake
How do we share our cake with them and still keep it all to ourselves? You don’t. Our standard of living will go down. And theirs will rise. And hopefully (and this may be just a pipe dream), a type of synergy will occur and we will see that “they” are really “us” and that we all have a lot to give each other.
The trick for me is that by choosing how we share the cake with them, we retain some control over it. That way our resources aren’t overwhelmed and people have time to adjust. The harder we try to keep them out, the harder they’re going to try to get in.
The (Missing) Bread
There are many problems with my approach. 1) People don’t like to share. We never grew out of that impulse. 2) People don’t like to be forced by the government to share (right, m?). So any legislation favoring immigrants makes people feel taken advantage of, to put it lightly. 3) We feel like we earned it so we should keep it. They want cake? Let them build their own bakery and whip their own fudgy frosting.
These feelings are basic human nature but as Mormons, we have a larger perspective on this. Nowhere in the Book of Mormon does it say “share only when it’s convenient or easy for you.” It also doesn’t say “share only when the receiver deserves it.” In fact, it states exactly the opposite.
First consider Jacob’s warning to the Nephites (Jacob 2:12-14 - emphasis mine)
12 And now behold, my brethren, this is the word which I declare unto you, that many of you have begun to search for gold, and for silver, and for all manner of precious aores, in the which this land, which is a bland of promise unto you and to your seed, doth abound most plentifully.
13 And the hand of providence hath smiled upon you most pleasingly, that you have obtained many riches; and because some of you have obtained more abundantly than that of your brethren ye are alifted up in the pride of your hearts, and wear stiff necks and high heads because of the costliness of your apparel, and persecute your brethren because ye suppose that ye are better than they.
14 And now, my brethren, do ye suppose that God justifieth you in this thing? Behold, I say unto you, Nay. But he condemneth you, and if ye persist in these things his judgments must speedily come unto you.
Come on, nobody wants to bring down the wrath of God, right? And Jacob makes an important point: we may have worked for what we have but we don’t deserve it any more than the next person because God gave us everything we have. We are so blessed to be born in America with all the resources and opportunities that we have.
In verse 7, Jacob makes a suggestions that we would be prudent to listen to: 17 Think of your abrethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your bsubstance, that cthey may be rich like unto you.
The Nuts and Bolts (where I officially lose the French Revolution Analogy. Sorry. Had to happen.)
I expect that many of you will not disagree with me about the validity and timeliness of Jacob’s words. The issue comes down to how we implement it. As my friend Rachel (the second Libertarian I’ve met! m was the first) put it: “It isn’t charity if the government forces me to do it by stealing my money through taxes and giving it away without my permission. In fact, that is Satan’s plan - to force us to do the “right” thing by taking away our free agency.”
I can see the reasoning behind this argument. But I think this is exactly why we need to get involved in the discussion on legislating immigration reform. Make it your choice to be involved. Choose to give. Because, in the end, it’s all going to equal out. Wouldn’t you rather it be on your terms?
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March 12, 2008 7:49 pm
By tearese, March 12, 2008 @ 9:17 pm
This was a great article, thanks for contributing. Its always good to hear different points of view…though most people refuse to acknowledge that another pov than their own may have some validity, especially in politics.
By TJ, March 13, 2008 @ 5:56 am
WOW
I’ve never really thought about this before. But it rings ’spot on’. Even those not of the Mormon faith can appreciate the historical relevancy of the revolution and how it compares to the current economic state of North America.
By Ailene Hert, March 13, 2008 @ 7:24 am
When it comes to immigration, it boils down to this for me… I have no problem with those who come here legally. If people want to come to America, and do it legally, that’s fine by me. It’s the illegal immigrants that bother me. Yeah, they may be good hard workers, etc… but they are illegal. It’s important to be a law abiding citizen. Being an illegal immigrant is not okay.
By Laura, March 13, 2008 @ 1:59 pm
Hmm. . . My impulse is to leave a LENGTHY reply, but I will try not to. The biggest issue I see within the immigration debate is one of language. I think most people would concede that we have a lot of immigrants because, well, we either cannot or will not do the jobs that they do. They fill a niche in our society and our society provides for their needs. This isn’t bad. This is the way it always been in America. Think of the Irish or Germans or any other white group of immigrants. The big difference seems to be one of culture (don’t worry, I’m coming back to the language thing). America has always been referred to as a “melting pot”. The validity of that idea aside, most of us believe that America is a relatively homogoneous society. And we like that. Now, the current wave of immigrants doesn’t seem to want to melt. Not only do they refuse to eschew their culture, but they won’t even speak to us in our own language. I’m willing to bet that if they spoke English they wouldn’t seem like such a threat. This isn’t just a cultural concern either. It’s practical. If they don’t speak English how will they learn the laws that will make them safe drivers? Or what about their health care? If they can’t read the directions on the bottle, how will they know how to take their medicine? Truth to be told, how will our society take them in if we can’t communicate with them? Let me be clear, though, I am not a proponent of an English only society. We are the ONLY industrialized nation that is not at least bilingual. And the reason, I believe, is cultural pride. We love our culture and our language so, therefore, we want people to learn our ways. We don’t want to learn theirs. Why can’t we learn Spanish and they learn English? Geography has put us all together and limited our resources–we have got to learn to coexist. I think language is the place to start. A lot of problems could be solved if we’d only learn to talk to each other!
Oh, and another thing to consider: anyone remember a recent time when we restricted immigration based on race? It’s called WWII. America told European Jews that only so many of them could come to our country when thousands were fleeing for their lives. A lot of people suffered and died because we didn’t like where they came from.
By Tearese, March 14, 2008 @ 7:42 am
….and after we had them build our railroads for us, we had an extremely restrictive policy toward Asian immigrants too, remember?
By Dr. Tseh, March 14, 2008 @ 2:11 pm
Sooo interesting!
Lotsa stereotypes floating around this stuff, but “they” are as diverse as “us.”
I think the main point I’d add to this, though, is that the USA has repeatedly tried to bring up Mexico’s standard of living. Anybody heard of NAFTA? What was the point of that again? Oh, right, to eliminate economic barriers between the USA and its contiguous neighbors!
When they win, we win. The richer they get, the richer we get. Nobody’s standard of living has to fall. We can all rise together. It’s called international trade, and it happens all the time. Anybody remember India before outsourcing? How about South Korea before KIA? Japan before Sony? It works really well! (Read Adam Smith for the details.)
The USA needs Mexico to be prosperous, but Mexico isn’t cooperating: interpretation, corruption throughout the government and business leaders. The more money we pump into their economy, the richer the guys at the top get. Makes me mad.
So, here’s the bottom line: figure out a way to eliminate corruption. First, stop paying the corrupt–get money to the good guys in Mexico, not the crooks.
Hey, wait a minute! You mean the Perpetual Education Fund? The Humanitarian Aid Fund? (Yup, the prophets and apostles–and the odd philanthropist here and there–got there first. We just have to try to keep up.)
Thanks for a great read!
By Heidi, March 14, 2008 @ 7:30 pm
Wow–what great comments we have going on here! I’m certainly no expert, but I feel the same as Ailene. Obey the laws of the land and I don’t mind who immigrates here.
By m, March 14, 2008 @ 11:19 pm
@Laura: Re: the language barrier - I have a hard time buying into this reasoning because I’m not sure who you’re talking about. For this to be the main driver, you would have to have specific parties that couldn’t talk to each other and I just don’t see that. I think it has more to do with the issues of entitlement, health care, taxes, etc.
“We are the ONLY industrialized nation that is not at least bilingual” - I’ll take you’re word for it that that’s true, but don’t you think that has more to do with our size and history, rather than our cultural pride? Europe and Africa are filled with nations the size of one of our states. An hour-long flight in any direction, in some European countries, lands you in another nation. In America, you’re just in your neighboring state (sometimes).
“anyone remember a recent time when we restricted immigration based on race?” - Maybe I’m just straining at gnats here, but aren’t immigration restrictions based on nationality, not race? I see those as two very different things, but I could be wrong.
@Dr. Tseh: Great comments! It’s nice to hear someone debunk the zero-sum myth of wealth. I’m tired of hearing so many people assume that wealth is like matter and can’t be created or destroyed.
I also enjoyed your comment about the Perpetual Education Fund. I have to admit, though, it reminds me that we’re commanded to gather in our lands (stakes). I don’t think that means we can’t emigrate, but I do think that means we have a responsibility, where possible, to build up the area we reside in, instead of moving to one that’s already…bettered?
I’ll write a more thorough response in a post.
By Ann, March 17, 2008 @ 8:52 pm
Well thought out article. Many good points. I just have one question. What responsibilities does the immigrant have to the society it wants to assimilate into? Sometimes that which is given freely and not earned is not valued.
By m, March 18, 2008 @ 7:35 am
That’s a great point, Ann. I often wonder why the American Revolution was so successful yet when we try to export Democracy it doesn’t seem to work very well.
I think it’s for the same reason you mentioned. When the revolution comes from inside and you have to work for it, as opposed to having the work done for you, you value it more and strive to make it work.
If I understand your point correctly, you’re saying the immigrants that are just given access to America might not behave or value this gift because it’s just that…a gift. In other words, they don’t have any skin in the game.
I actually think that allowing them come over and stay here, long term, gives them more skin in the game. With citizenship, they have the right to vote, they have better access to services and, potentially, more of a desire to stay, long term. Then, if they misbehave, we take those rights away.
So, once they get here, maybe we load them up with all kinds of reasons to stay here and behave correctly. That way, we give them an incentive to be productive and obey the law.
By making it difficult to get here and stay here, we only build animosity and take away any incentive to do what’s right.
Great comment, Ann!
By Ailene Hert, March 18, 2008 @ 9:55 am
As far as incentive to stay here, I think they already have it… because they are already doing it!
Doing what is right isn’t always convenient or easy, but it still must be done. I don’t think laws should be changed just because some people don’t want to obey them.
I don’t have any incentive to stay out of the carpool lane when it’s just me in the car… other than the fact that it’s a law. I stay out of the carpool lane when I’m alone because it’s a law. Although it would be much more convenient for me if I could use it regardless of if I was alone or not!
Hmm… maybe that doesn’t have anything to do with anything… or maybe I made a good point. I don’t know.