Both the "left" and the "right" in the United States have been guilty of promoting this latest "wedge" issue (aka illegal immigration)

The "left" likes to offer polyanish utopian ideals to the issue of unfettered immigration with simplistic bumper sticker replys like "no human being is illegal".

The "right" likes to pretend that racism and nationalism play no significant role in creating their attitudes about immigration and they are simply advocating the rule of law.

Neither is complete or honest in their evaluations.

The reality is that US trade policies and the corporate multi-nationals that drive them are behind the increase in undocumented workers.

Cheap labor that can't vote is exactly what the perverted version of US capitalism promotes and continues to make possible.

Those who truly care about "social justice" need to understand that fact.

Those who care about maintaining the "Dan Quayle" vision of America also need to understand that "leave it to beaver" view of American life died long long ago.

The issue of undocumented workers needs an objective analysis that is based on what is good for all people and the planet and the less sophisticated among us who see this issue as being simple need to take a big step back and understand why we are where we are at instead of simply repeating the mantras they heard from the corporate elite controlled media whose goal is to divide us to diminish our power.

As an environmentalist, I understand that unfettered immigration is a recipe for environmental disaster.

As an advocate for social justice, I understand that allowing corporate America to facilitate cheap labor for profit while undermining the American worker is not a progressive value.

The legal arguments by proponents for building walls and fences and increasing the power of our growing police state are silly to me precisely because at one time a black man was legally considered to be 3/4 of a person and a woman was not allowed to vote. That was the law.

Arguing that "the law" is the issue here ignores this nation's long long history of creating immoral and unconstitutional laws.

Creating cooperative communities where power manifests itself on the local level is the solution. But then that would involve tearing down the existing structure which would most likely invoke violent revolution and a crackdown by our evergrowing police state.

But let's stop taking the bait by creating yet another senseless wedge issue by pretending that being environmentally sensible and socially just is another way of saying we should have open borders.

Let us also abandon talk of the "law" when what we people are actually saying is that "we don't want no more damm Mexicans in our country!"

Leave that kind of simplistic linear thinking to the Sean Hannity's, Rush Limbaugh's, and Bill O'Reilly's of the world.