There are two extremes within which any government may function just as there are two basic functions for any wall.  At one end one could find a closed society run by an autocratic government (think North Korea) and at the opposite end a completely transparent government (example lacking).  Truth is that for all the talk of transparency most of our modern democracies are, at best, marginally transparent.  Not surprisingly, America’s political elites have taken great pains to run campaigns based on the mantra of transparency.  This approach has done much to raise the level of “Hot Air,” but not much more.  Witness the recent, and longest, government shutdown ever.  Now ask yourself whether the government was transparent in conveying its reasons for this drastic measure or simply rammed it down America’s throat.  I am certain you have already concluded that this shutdown over a “Wall” was absolutely necessary to preserve the “Union.”  Not quite.

But, it did raise the existential question about the life of “Walls.” It goes well beyond keeping things out (Brown Folks) or keeping things in (White Folks).  On a personal level walls serve to enclose our habitats from our neighbors in order that we may enjoy privacy while protecting ourselves from the elements.  At a more local level walls can form levees to protect our towns from rising flood waters, serve to keep penal inmates contained, serve to abate highway noise from residential communities, and serve as courts for Handball and other sports.  Yes, long ago, ancient “Walled Cities” such as Jerusalem and Pingyao were built and surrounded by walls as fortification against invading forces.  Today, the wall at Pingyao is but a historical relic for visitors and the wall in Jerusalem was transformed into the “Wailing Wall” used for prayers (best use).   But that was then.

In modern times walls are rarely used for defensive purposes.  More often than not, they are used to condone racial hatred and strengthen ideological divides.  During the Second World War European Jews were pushed into walled “Ghettos” while Hitler implemented the “Final Solution.”  This finally woke the International Community up and as it clamored for transparency it found it necessary to hold war criminal accountable by establishing the first of a kind War Crimes Tribunals.  Allied war crimes in the bombing of Berlin, Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not subjected to the viewfinder of transparency.  The end of the war brought us more walls.  It begat the “Cold War,” which begat the “Berlin Wall,” or as it became known over time – “The Iron Curtain.”  It symbolized the ideological divide between the “Communist East” and the “Capitalist West.”  Today there are 20 complete border barriers functioning with many more currently on the drawing board. Like the barrier walls in the Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta, in North Africa, most are specifically designed to keep immigrants and smugglers out.  In the case of North Africa the land borders serve as the only land mass separating African immigrants from the European Union.  Sound familiar?

The ongoing lack of transparency by sovereign nations tends to shape world events for decades to come.  Such territorial walls are often disguised, as Trump would have us believe, as necessary to “protect” us from “invaders.”  But the lack of transparency deprives us of the truth and mask hidden agendas.  As further illustration consider the fact that our Southern border has long been a rather porous barrier.  And, this was just how “Agribusiness” and later “Corporate” America liked it.  Our country’s dependence on cheap labor has long benefited our national economy but this factoid continues to be buried in plain sight.  Instead, our leaders, not known for transparency, prefer to confuse us by blaming the so-called “invaders” with taking jobs away from Americans, filling our streets with drugs, and targeting us for crimes. To be transparent would require our leaders to admit more than one hidden truth.  Like, the fact that undocumented immigrants add more and do not subtract from our economy; that the “Messenger,” Gary Webb an investigative journalist, was on to something when he linked the Nicaraguan Contra Rebels to the crack cocaine trade in L.A.; or that a single family, the Sackler family, is considered to have single-handily created the current opioid crisis.  And, how about crime?  Our leaders gloss over reports from the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statistics showing that the violent crime rate has been falling since the 1990’s.  Need I say more?

Unfortunately, America is stuck with “The Donald,” the one-time unlikely Presidential Candidate, “Master Capitalist,” and unabashed “Nationalist” who insists that a 5.9 billion dollar wall be built in our “National Security Interest.”  He first proposed to build a “Wall” and have Mexico pay for it (a big fat lie).  He then sent the Army in to assist with the capture of mothers and children (a bunch of terrorists) and, being the bully that he is, proceeds to terrorize Americans with a foolish government shutdown.  Why is he afraid of transparency?  Could it be that Americans can count and would rather see that kind of money go into a Universal Health Care plan?  Could it be that he is masking a boondoggle for his friends in the construction trades, or profiting from the birth of a new cottage industry in family detention facilities.

And what about Congress!  Does it really see a “Border Wall” as the best defense against our enemies?  After all, Congress is well-informed that over 90% of the illicit drug trade from Mexico comes through the 71 Border Patrol traffic checkpoints.  Not much a wall is going to do there.  And Congress is also well aware that of the 41 people on our Terrorist Watch List, who have crossed through our manned checkpoints on the Mexican border, 35 have been identified as American citizens or legal residents.  Congress has also expended an extraordinary focus, not to mention money, on transforming Customs and Border Protection into a small army while exhibiting an utter lack of concern over our unprotected Northern border or the ease with which terrorists can cross it.  Now, can anyone please provide me with at least an ounce of transparency?

By: David Rivera, Esq.

Washington, D.C.

January 31, 2019