-=> Quoting ROBERT CRAFT to JEAN HALVERSON <=-
 JH> But just because our laws are more lenient than others does
 JH> that mean our laws in this respect are correct? 
 
 RC> That depends upon what you consider the purpose of
 RC> immigrantion and naturalization policy. 
 
 JH> The history of the laws suggests that the reasons are to
 JH> maintain a distinctly white, european country. Sounds
 JH> racist to me. 
 RC> No, it's not racist - it's discriminatory. And, before you
 RC> jump at that, just remember: every time one makes a choice,
 RC> one is discriminating between alternatives. No one is
 RC> making any judgements about the value or virtues of any
 RC> race. The goal is simply to maintain a consistent national
 RC> demography and culture.
 The history of the laws is this: when there was an influx of immigration
 from Ireland thanks to the potato famine, TPTB in the eastern US decided
 that they didn't want "that" kind of person coming to this country and thus 
 began immigration quotas. 
 
 
 RC> ::snip::
 
 JH> But there is a higher standard that we have to compare our
 JH> actions to. The real question is not whether our laws are
 JH> more lenient than x country's laws, but instead how do our
 JH> laws compare to the higher standard? 
 
 RC> What higher standard? 
 
 JH> God's standard.
 RC> I'm not being flip, but exactly where in the Bible does God
 RC> address immigration? Seems to me that's one of the items
 RC> falling under "Render unto Caesar...".
 I know you're not being "Flip";)
 But seriously, I just speak about the New Testament policy of non racism
 in the "there are neither Jews nor Greeks, neither bond nor free" context.
 If God sees us in a non racial context then we should strive to see
 each other the same way.
 I really don't see a problem in admitting people of different cultural
 backgrounds. I was raised in a very racist family yet I just don't see
 the logic of the current practices. How can turning needy people away just
 because of the color of their skin be a morally right thing to do?
 I know, there's that dreaded "M" word that people have removed from the 
 public forum.
 
 JH> Why do we have to consider immigrants based on our
 JH> demographics? Sounds rather Swedish to me.
 RC> Because a country is it's peoples and it's culture and
 RC> you've shown no cause to change either of them. 
 
 I guess I don't see the US as a homogeneous grouping. I have been here all
 of my life and what I see here is that the US is a country made up of
 a multitude of subcultures. From the distinctly Norwegian and Polish 
 presence in the North to the Mexican and African presence in the South.
 I'm talking subcultures and I think the parts offer something to the whole.
 I don't believe in diversification teaching in the schools yet what i see
 is that we have a diversified culture made up of ethnic subcultures.
 
 Jean Halverson
... Researching: ALLEN (KY),HENLEY (AL), HOBBS (TN), RICHARDSON (IN)
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