[Grovenet] Krystof's response

[David Morelli]

If anyone cares, I feel that Krystof expresses some appropriate  
opinions in here.

We should have good laws.  Those laws should be followed.  No one is  
beneath the law, no one is above the law.  Those who object to the  
law should work to change it, not ignore it.  Religion is neither a  
sword nor a shield to defend someone who disobeys the law.

And all of that applies to the members of our Administration, too.

David


On Oct 3, 2006, at 2:58 PM, Krystof Zmudzinski wrote:

> [It wasn't my intention to send the e-mail only to you.  I hit the  
> reply button and often, because of the configuration of the Reply- 
> To: field in the original e-mail, my replies go only to the sender  
> even thought it seems the messages come from Grovenet.  I sometimes  
> catch this and correct the To: field in the outgoing message but  
> sometimes I don't.]
>
>   OK, so let me be a man: I am against illegal immigration.   
> However, I would not put people on buses and I would not go to  
> Cornelius to protest the immigrants.  I would enforce all  
> employment laws and I would  build a wall.  I would not extend any  
> benefits to illegal immigrants beyond some basic humanitarian  
> help.  If we need more immigrants let us increase quotas.  I want  
> employers to be as free from taxation and regulations as possible   
> but I want them to compete within some sane environment.
>
>   I don't know people you call minute-men but I would guess that if  
> this issue were put to a vote, you wouldn't like the outcome.   
> Remember the marriage referendum?  Where would Jesus stand on that  
> one?
>
>   People who come to the US through the southern border know they  
> do it illegally but they do it anyway.  So I don't understand how I  
> smear them.  Maybe saying that they yearn to break the law is too  
> strong but this was a play on the original words on the statue of  
> liberty.  That's why we have cartoons; they exaggerate the point  
> they try to make.  I wonder if Bob would stand behind every word on  
> every cartoon he has sent.  I hope not.
>
>   I do not care what Jesus would do.  My allegiance as a US citizen  
> is to the laws of this country and nothing else (not France, not  
> UN, not even Poland.)  I do not believe in breaking laws because of  
> my beliefs.  I believe in changing laws to suit my beliefs trough  
> democratic process.  I have to admit I do speed occasionally  
> though.  As another Jesus exercise, however, try this: On which  
> side of an abortion clinic protest would Jesus stand?  Btw, October  
> is a pro-life month in the Catholic church.
>
>   I wasn't implying that there was a rule on Grovenet against  
> bringing religion into our discussions.  But it seems that there  
> are many here who object to so called right-wing Christians trying  
> to legislate morality.  If religion shouldn't be used when the  
> subject is abortion or homosexual marriage, why is it OK to use  
> religion when we discuss so called social-justice issues?  I can  
> argue all without mixing religion.
>
>   I do talk about politics with my children and I would want them  
> to some day share my views.  They do now, of course, but I don't  
> think they fully understand all the ramifications.  I expect that  
> one they will rebel as I did and venture briefly onto the wrong  
> side, but, like me, they will be back.
>
>   As you may know, I am an immigrant.  I followed the rules.  You  
> may not believe me when I say it because to do so would deny you  
> your favorite argument but this has nothing to do with race of  
> illegal immigrants.  There are many illegal immigrants from Poland  
> around the US and I would treat them the same way.  [Btw, your  
> favorite argument is to call people who protest illegal immigration  
> racists.  You may claim that you have the right to this argument  
> because the protests are a recent phenomena when most of illegal  
> immigrants are "brown" but I would argue that the protests are  
> increasing because of the impact on some communities illegal  
> immigration has and not because of the color of those immigrants  
> (who are illegal, by the way.)]
>
>   Again, I don't know what news outlets you use or how carefully  
> you follow politics but there are many proposals, on both state and  
> federal levels, to grant illegal immigrants the same rights as  
> legal residents so they could attend college.  Given that many  
> (most, all?) are of modest means that would imply a lot of  
> financial aid.
>
>   Some argue that there is a net benefit to our economy, taxes,  
> etc. because of illegal immigration.  First, I don't care if an  
> illegal activity brings benefits.  Second, I'm not convinced.  I  
> hear often that my salad will be more expensive if farmers are  
> forced to pay legal wages.  I buy my salad from a local cooperative  
> so I already pay the full price.
>
>   Krystof