"Clean your plate!" Remember this parental mantra? It is likely that you, like most children, underwent this unique educational experience. For parents, using the kitchen as a classroom; that is, teaching children to “clean their plate” (eat all their food) was a lesson that goes far beyond simple grocery economics. In reality, parents teach their children the valuable ethics of responsibility - children learn that both lunch and life are full of tasks that must be completed. Furthermore, the plate cleaning process teaches children to take personal responsibility for finishing a given task. Parents teach their children to focus their attention not on the “plate cleaning” status of other siblings, but on taking ownership of the lunchtime process as a personal matter. This new reality and the impact of taking personal responsibility are driven home when the child is faced with the dreaded obstacle of an unwanted piece of cauliflower or broccoli that must be eaten. It is in these trying times that the child learns some very important lessons that will benefit him or her in adulthood. In essence, children learn that when the going gets tough, you often have to suck it up, hold your nose, and face the undesirable task.

We see many similarities in the kitchen “plate cleaning” challenge that are also present in our nation’s challenge to protect the border. Currently, the issue of border security has been pushed into the forefront of public debate. This is an issue that has been lingering on America’s plate for a long time. However, since September 11, 2001, a sense of urgency to deal with the issue of border security has been rekindled. For decades, those who have petitioned for tighter border security have cited the economic strain that illegal aliens place on domestic jobs and social services. Others point to the impact of crime that occurs when criminals from others countries are allowed to run unchecked and un-monitored amongst the U.S. populace. The current dilemma of an unprotected border now includes the terrorist agent(s) and the fear building tools of terrorism, such as (WMD) Weapons of Mass Destruction. Despite having a strong defensive strategy abroad for fighting terrorism, America’s unwillingness to secure the border leaves the country with a full plate of problems. Based from a historical lack of political will, America can be likened to a stubborn child, who by failing to cleanse his plate, must sit with his food and wait for things to get so unbearable that actions is finally taken. The very same thing that makes the stubborn child’s stand off so aggravating to the parent is the same factor that makes border security advocates angry with the government. That is, in both cases, the end goal could be achieved within a few simple steps. That is, true border security implementation, like plate cleaning, is not brain surgery; the challenge is in having the will to complete the task. As with both tasks, it is suggested that the simple but valuable logic of “A few bites and you’re done” be forwarded. That is, break the task into simple steps that linked together, achieve the desired goal.

The recipe for true border security is obvious and simple: construct permanent physical barriers across the entire border, deploy the military to the border with full detention authority, and create a strict but fair immigration program for the future. Failing to implement all of these programs will deny the country a truly secure border leaving the problem for others to deal with. It is easy to fall into the liberal trap that all issues are complex. If one falls into this mental “Bermuda triangle”, simple constructions (such as a wall) must be analyzed as to the possible “statement” someone on the opposite side of the hemisphere may associate with it. Oh course a wall does make a statement, “Don’t go past this point!” However, the failings of liberal minded deliberation on border security is that it is perceived that action cannot be taken unless it benefits border countries as much, if not more, than the U.S. This can, and usually does lead to inaction or just plan silly action.