It’s time to stop crying about migrants trying to cross our border illegally and do something about it. People who flee their own country are mostly victims of poor, unsafe living conditions; and, inadequate political/economic settings, laws and debilitating sanctions, invariably imposed by the collective West that have played a major role in creating shortages and unrest. Not innocent, Western powers have been trying to exploit Central American countries for decades. They want more bribable right-wing regimes in power, which will allow the rich to exploit more natural resources. It’s not happening under the more socialist-trending governments, so the chaos continues. Migrating to a more safe and stable environment becomes the goal for many, and the U.S. is the target.
The good news is there is precedence, a tried and workable solution, and it’s based on the fact that most people would rather stay at home in their own country of birth. The solution then is to make them feel at home there. Europe did it by forming a European Union (EU). Of the 29 member countries in the EU, there isn’t one that has migrants clambering to move into a neighboring member’s country.
The answer then is for the U.S. to form an American Union (AU) with the other 34 states, encompassing all countries on the American continents similar to the EU format. The advantages are massive. In Europe, the EU has mainly brought a continent to peace and prosperity. According to Google, the key achievements of 29 sovereign EU states are:
• Freedom for its citizens to live, study, or work anywhere in the EU.
• The world’s greatest single market.
• Aid and development assistance for millions of people worldwide.
The general advantages of 35 sovereign AU states would then result in:
• No more border problems.
• Membership in a community of stability, democracy, security and prosperity.
• Stimulus to gross domestic product growth, more jobs, higher wages and pensions.
• Growing internet market and domestic demand.
• Free movement of labor, goods, services and capital.
• Free access to 1.02 billion consumers. (The EU has 450 million consumers).
• A central committee that monitors the orderly phaseout of greenhouse gases and channels us all into a sustainable future.
The criteria for AU membership would first be collectively established. The EU conditions for membership were contrived in what is called the “Copenhagen Criteria.” They are rules that define a country’s eligibility to join. See: bit.ly/3Xluz4E.
Some countries will need monetary assistance to manage eligibility. Others may need business investments, more roads and infrastructure. The hope of an emerging AU will already keep many from leaving their own country while their country is on the road to becoming an actual member.
It’s a simple matter of seeing that people can acquire what they need to have them stay in their own country. According to Howard Zinn, the American philosopher and historian, “Humans are already satisfied with just the basics of living like food, medicine, clean air, pure water, trees and grass, pleasant homes to live in, some hours of work, and more hours of leisure. Don’t ask who deserves it. Every human being deserves it.”
Paraphrasing the words of Thomas Jefferson: In the course of human events, we can establish a precedent by which all oppressed people on our continent can achieve freedom (have a basic lifestyle and peace of movement).
Gerald Staack
Former Santa Clarita resident
Wilmington, North Carolina
