Recently, I had a unique opportunity while out on the West Coast. I had a
chance to see the US/Mexico Border up close and personal. The experience really
opened my eyes to the complicated relationship we have with our southern
neighbor… A relationship that could become even more complicated if a certain
Presidential candidate were to become the 45th President of the United
States.
While I won’t get into too many details about the time I spent along our
southern edge, I will say the relationship between the two countries is not
one-way. I saw just as many people crossing into Mexico for goods and business
as I saw people crossing into the US for similar reasons. I did not interact
with these travelers; merely I observed the comings and goings of daily life
along this narrow line. It is a relationship that even the most observant
people cannot fully explain.
Like it or not, Mexican culture is prevalent across a huge part of the
American Southwest. It’s been that way since the 1840s , when the US and Mexico
fought a war that initially started over the land claims of the newly acquired
Texas territory, and ended with the US claiming what would eventually become the
states of California, Nevada, Utah, most of Arizona, and portions of Wyoming,
Colorado, and New Mexico. It can be difficult at times to determine who is
native to the area and who has migrated up from the south. Going through Old
Town San Diego was an example of this. There was a lot of Mexican heritage seen
in the area in the form of restaurants, art, music, and culture. And it’s not
just San Diego as Mexican culture is clearly evident up the California
coastline.
Now, from where I was, there was a fence separating the two nations. I do
not know when that fence was built, but you could clearly see it on Interstate 5
South several miles before you reached the border. You could clearly see the
city of Tijuana even before you can make the outline of the fence. But the fence
is visible… a clear dividing line.
Are there issues in Mexico? Certainly. Rival drug gangs are committing
violence along the border. The things I heard were very shocking and sobering.
And yet, many Americans will cross gladly into places like Tijuana for fun, for
adventure, for medical reasons… And some Americans have decided to settle down
and live their remaining years south of the border. Like I said, the issues
between the United States and Mexico are not simple.
A ten foot high fence does not and will not stop the two-way traffic between
the two nations, whether people cross into this country through legal means or
non-legal ones. Neither will a 35-foot wall (or higher wall) across the entire
southern border do anything to stem the flow. You can always find a big enough
ladder, or a longer rope to get over. You can go under the above ground
obstructions by digging tunnels. Or you can manage to sneak past the
checkpoints if you have the means to do so. To think a wall will protect your
job or your life from southern non-legal incursions is simple-minded and
unrealistic. That is reality. All building a 35-foot wall will do is strain
relations between neighbors on the continent. I’m not saying the border should
be open like it is with our neighbors to the north. However, what Trump is
proposing will do little to change the flow, and may instead backfire on the US
if things “go south”, if you pardon the pun.
For now, I am grateful for my time visiting our southernmost limits. Big
picture perspective helps keep me grounded and forces me to confront my own
heretofore ignorant observations. I am more knowledgeable now than I was this
time last week. That is always a good thing.
