Complications
Photo by LaPriel of Ospreys Flaunting Local Fishing Laws
I started writing a flippant letter this evening to my local Congressman on how I disagree with his amnesty fixation. Then I spent several hours reading previous immigration legislation, the intricacies of H-B1 temporary work visa caps, historical immigration trends, my Congressman's rationale for his position, etc. (Clearly, anyone who would do that instead of enjoying a cool Idaho summer night with his kids is nuts, or they are stranded in New Orleans because eighteen thousand librarians who have been in town the last five days for a convention booked all the flights home forcing said immigration reform student to fly out tomorrow afternoon. Which begs the question, why would any group in their right mind book a convention in New Orleans in the middle of summer?)
I gave up on my letter. Immigration reform on its surface would seem like a straightforward problem. Yet like every other major issue facing us (i.e. global warming, terrorism, healthcare reform, massive government deficits and debt, etc.), immigration reform is so dang complicated. It's much easier to resort to name calling or to drop blanket demands like "they ought to just fix the mess." And exactly how are they suppose to fix it? And who is “they”? It is always simpler to assume someone else out there is smarter than us and has all the answers but refuses to tell us what the answers are, or they won't implement them because they are "right-wing conservatives" or "left-wing liberals" and they don't want to give advantage to the other side.
The truth is no one has the answers. They just have theories on what might work to address one aspect of a particular problem without knowing what the impact will be on all the other facets tied to that problem. The variables are so interconnected and changing so quickly it's a wonder we get anything accomplished at all. We want to believe issues are black and white, but in fact they are all gray. We want to believe government, industry, or some other global entity can solve the big problems at the flick of a switch. They can't.
Big problems are solved through a simultaneous top down and bottom up effort. They are solved through the creative trials and errors of many individuals and organizations, including elected officials, acting both autonomously and in concert. Governments provide structure and set the bounds and limits of the problem solving playing field. Governments can protect against obvious injustices, particularly when the motivation of the vast hoard of problems solvers and profit seekers is asymmetrically opposed to the common good. But governments will never solve the big problems. Governments are followers. And the world is changing too fast for lumbering followers. The big problems will only be solved by individuals. And when the solutions to a big problem bubble up to the surface, and enough individuals gravitate to the solution and agree that it might work, then we can work with government to make sure the solution gets incorporated into the rules of the game.
