Even after you break the law, it’s still on your side. I always think people who are too self-centered to follow the law should just be kicked off the island. Unfortunately in the United States, we not only keep these people around, we cater to them.
You can find a great example of this in Oregon right now, with the installation of flat-panel television screens in the Oregon State Correctional Institution. I’m glad to hear that we’re making conditions better in our prisons for felons, because no matter how many laws one breaks, a man should always have the right to watch television in his own room. Give me a break. If you compare an inmate’s television-viewing situation to that of an “elite” living situation, such as a sorority, you may be surprised to find out who often has the better setup: Inmates. Maybe sororities could get their chapter headquarters to spring for flat-panels in every room if they started to stab each other in the necks with pencils while arguing during viewings of “The OC” or “The Bachelor.” It seems to have worked well for inmates!
Guards claim that prisoners are under much better behavior now that they aren’t gathered in large groups to watch television. Several times, inmates were sent to the emergency room after fights broke out concerning what channel to watch. Personal televisions now prevent these fights from occurring. It seems like the logic that most people learned in kindergarten could have worked just as well: If you can’t behave yourself while watching television, then no television for you.
But the program isn’t promoting bad behavior. In fact, the inmate must have a good behavior record in order to receive the flat-panel installation, and it’s not free. The going rate for a 7-inch flat panel television at the Oregon State Correctional Institution is $300. Corrections officials are quick to point out that the televisions aren’t being bought with taxpayers’ money, but through a no-cash incentive program in which inmates are paid for their prison jobs. As a taxpayer, I felt a lot better after hearing this. I mean, I am really glad they use their “hard-earned” money to pay for their entertainment, but I have a better idea: How about they start using it to pay for their room and board, which the taxpayers do fund?
Another group of lawbreakers this country continues catering to is illegal immigrants. Our sister state to the south, California, had the great idea to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants last year. Fortunately, the new governor “terminated” this law upon his arrival. Unfortunately, California wasn’t the first state to come up with this brilliant concept. In fact, it was the fifteenth.
But now a new state wants to join the pack: Florida. Jeb Bush seems to grasp the concept of “illegal,” yet he still supports the law. The governor commented, “We shouldn’t allow them to come into the country to begin with.” And this is the point where every argument should end. Illegal immigrants have broken the law by entering the country without going through the immigration process. By allowing them to stay, the government undermines all of those who put in the effort to legally obtain their citizenship. Jeb continued his comment by saying, “But once they’re here, what do you do?” Hmm … maybe send them back? The answer is definitely not to make rules to condone their illegal behavior.
“Do you basically say that they’re lepers to society? That they don’t exist?” Jeb asks. “A policy that ignores them is a policy of denial.” And a policy that acknowledges their rights in a country they have entered illegally is a policy of stupidity. Why on earth would you give a legal document to an illegal citizen?
Many believe that licensing illegal immigrants will make the roads safer. Sen. Rudy Garcia, R-Fla., made the argument that these people often drive children to school or themselves to work without a license. By doing this, they are endangering their life and the lives of others, because they may not know the rules of the road. Yeah, they probably haven’t figured out the rules to the road, especially if they failed to grasp the rules of immigration. Garcia comments, “The state … is basically telling these folks to drive illegally.” No, Garcia, I think the message is: You don’t have the same rights of other citizens in this country, because you are not a citizen.
What if we applied logic like this to other things in society? I don’t have the right to go backstage at a concert, unless I have a pass. I’m sure if my friends and I ran past the guards, they wouldn’t turn to each other and say, “What are we going to do?” and show us to the snack room. No, we’d be out of luck and back with the masses.
So illegal immigrants have to take the bus from the home they’re living in illegally to the job they’re taking away from legitimate US citizens. I know they need to get to work, especially because countries like Mexico, where the second largest source of income is money being sent back from Mexican citizens working in the United States, are relying on them.
Maybe if we put the driver’s license office in the same building as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, like one of those combination Pizza Hut and KFCs, both problems could be taken care of at the same time.
Felons and illegal immigrants may be responsible for breaking very different kinds of laws, but there is one law that affects both of them: The right to vote. While neither is allowed to vote in elections, illegal immigrants may have a better chance. Despite their lack of citizenship, often the only identification it takes to vote is — surprise, surprise — a driver’s license.
I’m not sure which is worse: Malicious killers having a say in electing officials, or people who aren’t even citizens of this country having a say in our country’s politics? At least we know some of the felons are probably aware of the issues, because of their quality television-viewing time.