It’s time to start showing compassion when implementing border security strategies. What did that statement mean to you? In reality, when talking about securing the border, the term compassion means different things to different people. In fact, to make the previous utterance for compassion in the public forum would most certainly create a chain reaction of both “gasps” and “sighs”. For conservatives, the knee-jerk reaction is to see the idea of compassion as a liberal inroad to avoiding border control implementation altogether. In reality, the nature of liberal compassion is a much uglier thing. Liberals have a tendency to publicly designate conservative propositions for border security as simply draconian measures that punish the poor and downtrodden foreigner who is simply looking for a better life. It is within the area of compassion that liberals claim the moral high ground and often claim an unchallenged victory by default over conservatives. I say that conservatives should step forward aggressively on this issue and challenge liberals on what they believe is their holy high ground. I will do so now.

At the foundational level, liberals and conservatives see compassion from radically different perspectives. Conservatives see compassion from the perspective of allowing people an even playing field in which those that wish to aspire to a higher level can do so with hard work. Liberals simply shake their heads at theses notions as they see individuals as perpetually helpless victims who by a terminal lack of economic mobility must rely on big government for their every need. This philosophy of helplessness shapes itself into the border issue and quickly, the ugly side of compassion starts to rear its head. First, for liberals, securing the border with compassion ultimately means to leave the border completely open. To limit anyone, including al-Qaeda from strolling into the U.S. at will is repugnant to the liberal psyche. This comes in part due to the backwards nature of liberalism itself. Within this mentality, for compassion to be effective it requires programs that force America to frequently to take it on the chin. This unpublicized belief system stems from the fact that liberals see America as the overbearing bully of the world who needs to be taken down a notch from time to time. Much of this lingering American hatred stems from a resentment that capitalism was never plucked away by the masses as prognosticated by liberal heroes such as Karl Marx. This silent self-loathing of America breaks the surface from time to time for all to see.

When confronted with the overwhelming challenge of legitimizing open borders with national security, national sovereignty, or domestic social services, liberals quickly retreat to their high ground; that is, their holy hill of compassion. I say that it is time they die on that hill. With careful aim, a final arrow is shot at the argument that having an open border is a true form of compassion to the illegal alien. Under the current system, the illegal alien is by default labeled as part criminal, part indentured servant and now potential terrorist as well. It is the covert nature of the illegal alien, created by an absolute lack of identification that has been the driving force behind many of these categorizations. However, this is only the tip of the deadly iceberg. To see the total lack of compassion that open borders have on illegal aliens, one has only to quickly compare the U.S. citizen with the illegal alien. In contrast to the U.S. citizen, the illegal alien works for the lowest wage with no benefits. This individual moves about the country open to all legal sanctions of U.S. law with no voice or representation regarding those laws. One could say that the illegal alien in the U.S. walks in the constant shadow of the Damocles sword. Is this the compassion that liberals tout? Having a porous border also releases the Mexican government from any responsibility to create any viable economic infrastructure domestically. Recognizing these facts is not a call for amnesty but a call for true compassion. That is, compassion that starts with America itself and then extends to its visitors. When America respects its own borders, laws, and sovereignty, its visitors will do the same. With that said, the battleground for true compassion in border security is still internal. It is a battle of conservative and liberal ideologies. Border security strategies will continue to follow the victor of this ideological struggle. For conservatives, our strategy for victory on the issue of border security should go beyond our belief that people will become frustrated with liberals using hope as a defense and apathy as a strategy for securing the border. Our strategy must also include articulating the conservative ideals within border security that by its nature creates an environment in which true compassion can flourish.