Freedom Folks

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Nationalism?

Source: Tulsa World
OKLAHOMA CITY — An immigration reform bill that evoked strong emotions on both sides passed the Senate Monday on a 41-6 vote.

“This is a good day for Oklahoma, and a good day for America,” said Carol Helm, director of the anti-immigration group called IRON or Immigration Reform for Oklahoma Now.

“We have cities that are not enforcing the rule of law for every citizen. This cannot continue. We feel like there should be no exceptions, and everybody should be required to follow the law regardless of ethnic background or whether you’re a U.S. citizen or not.”
Seems fair enough, right? Everyone, regardless of race is expected to follow the law. Where's the argument exactly? Well, when you don't have an argument why not just throw slurs...
Opponents were just as strong in their reaction.

“This is going to cause more harm than good in Oklahoma,” said Campbell Cooke, a Tulsa immigration attorney and a naturalized U.S. citizen.

“In a word, it’s nationalism, and nationalism is very, very scary. It pro motes segregation and racism. That’s what this bill does. It promotes racism and segregation. It’s very scary that this is what Oklahoma wants.”
NATIONALISM! (dum-dum-dummmmm!)

I love when these lunatics say something like this because it gives me an excuse to trundle out my handy-dandy dictionary. Do you know what nationalism is? It certainly has become one of the reflexive insults from the left, so what the hell is it?

From Dictionary.com

na·tion·al·ism /ˈnæʃənlˌɪzəm, ˈnæʃnəˌlɪz-/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[nash-uh-nl-iz-uhm, nash-nuh-liz-] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. national spirit or aspirations.
2. devotion and loyalty to one's own nation; patriotism.
3. excessive patriotism; chauvinism.
4. the desire for national advancement or independence.
5. the policy or doctrine of asserting the interests of one's own nation, viewed as separate from the interests of other nations or the common interests of all nations.
6. an idiom or trait peculiar to a nation.
7. a movement, as in the arts, based upon the folk idioms, history, aspirations, etc., of a nation.

So, out of seven definitions only one is negative on its face, #3. And yes I believe that definition is prcisely what our lunatic lawyer is getting at, however, couldn't we just as easily argue that this new law in Oklahoma is more concerned with #2? Or #5?

One of the endless challenges of this debate is the unwillingness of the other side to come right out and say what they mean. They refuse to do so because they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it would be hateful to a majority of Americans and would damage their cause, so what do they do?

They lie, they obfuscate, they twist meanings of words, this being a good example.

What exactly is scary about "devotion and loyalty to one's own nation; patriotism?"

Or "the policy or doctrine of asserting the interests of one's own nation, viewed as separate from the interests of other nations or the common interests of all nations."

Nothing of course unless your goal is this...


Then yes, I think you would find the notion of "devotion and loyalty" to one's nation scary.

There is nothing NATIONALISTIC about wanting to control immigration, there is nothing nationalistic about wanting to stop or crack down on illegal immigration. In fact, there is nothing nationalistic about loving your country.

Now let's consider Mr. Cooke..."said Campbell Cooke, a Tulsa immigration attorney and a naturalized U.S. citizen."

Don't know about you, but I notice a couple of red flags here. Does the phrase "conflict of interest" mean anything to Mr. Cooke, I wonder? Secondly, how nice that a naturalized citizen who profits from immigration is fighting, and insulting fellow Americans, to continue to wrench our necessary immigration gates off their hinges, how nice.

Is this the object of coming to this country? To force us to accept more and more and more "immigrants," even if we desire less?

I thank Mr. Cooke for opening his ignorant yap and allowing me to take back one more uninformed slur from the lunatic open borders crowd. There is nothing nationalistic or scary about wanting illegal immigration stopped, in fact to even suggest that I have grave doubts about Mr. Cooke's ethical fitness for American citizenship.

H/T immigration watchdog

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