Floss religiously

Amnesty

Generally, I make a special effort to ensure that this blog is entirely devoid of anything meaningful. I occasionally dabble with something that I believe is important, but my little piece of the web is mostly a hangout for a few friends and family and some very random googlers to see a little way into a little piece of my life.

Most importantly, I usually try to avoid writing about anything political. It's not that I don't think that my opinion on political matters is better than yours--It is. But I'd generally rather not waste my time or yours, because you probably wouldn't change your mind for the better anyhow.

I think I'll break all those rules today.

The promise of joining a group can motivate us to work harder, achieve more, and creates a small sense of fraternity. This won't get a lot of support from my people in Southwest Texas, but they're allowed to be wrong every once in a while.

By the time I pack my bags to leave Charleston, I'll have spent four and half years and enough money to buy a comfortable house in order to join a fraternity of professionals. I want to be a part, and I want the benefits that come with joining such a group.

Immigrants who have come to this piece of America (legally or not) hope to join a fraternity of American success.

Specifically, I want to argue in favor of amnesty for the illegals who came and established good and honest lives in this nation. I strongly believe that any good answer to the question of how to deal with illegal immigrants living in the US requires an opportunity for all peaceful, hard-working aliens to earn their citizenship. That's right. Redemption.

Yes, they cheated the law when they overstayed their visas or swam across a river at night, but I think that every one should have the chance to earn citizenship--without returning to their country of origin. Their diligence, and their perseverance is a testament of model citizenship. Sure, feel free to deport those who are lazy, abusive, or drunkards. But America is honored by the presence of so those who come and behave honorably. They are an asset, a positive attribute, and they are integral to this nation.

How long can you prosecute a past sin? I cheated once in high school, but does that mean that I should be stripped of my bachelor's degree? At some point we must forgive the trespass of long ago in light of the accomplishment of more recent times. It's always easy to forgive somebody unless there's reason he needs forgiveness.

I believe that it is appropriate for the US to welcome talented and accomplished individuals into the fold. I also believe that it's appropriate to welcome the hard working who have made this nation their home.

Fareed Zakaria wrote an article in Newsweek in 2006 discussing immigration (To Become an American, April 2006), and I think he hit the nail on the head. The further we push immigrants from mainstream society, the more likely we are to see a backlash. Push far enough, and it could turn violent. For years, Europe marginalized their immigrants at every opportunity, and they created an angry, downtrodden segment of their population as a result. Why on Earth would we be so foolish as to emulate such a proven loser?

 

Boards

National boards. They're finally done, and I'm very happy with my performance-- I took the whole test.

For the first time in two years, I legitimately feel like I can relax on the weekends. I sat down and read part of a book today. ... because I wanted to.

 

whoa nelly, that's some wind

Some little squall came up out of the tropics and gave us a good pounding last night. As with every storm that's hit us lately, I was a little worried about the boat--and for good reason. The winds were coming from the north all night. Winds out of the north leave all the boats relatively unprotected.

I got a call from my friend, Will this afternoon. "Josh, I think I see your boat in a marsh. If you need a tug, we can get my boat and pull it out tomorrow."

"Not again," I thought as I found my keys and walked out the door.

Amber came too, and we drove down to survey the damage. On the way there, we saw Palms broken in half and tree limbs littered the road. Surveying from the James Island connector, we saw several boats washed up high on the southern shore, but mine wasn't one of them. There were big boats and small boats alike pushed up into the grass and trees. But my prodigal boat stayed true: it was bobbing in the current just like it should. We turned around to get another look at the damage. There was a boat that looked just like mine, and it was sitting way out in the marsh. That must have been some tide last night. I hope they've got a good shovel.

Pictures to come later.