The Wackiness of Enclosing the United States in Border Walls
Late in August, Republican Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin appeared to try to thumb a ride on Donald Trump’s coattails. Walker’s statements lacked the overt xenophobia that Trump seems to cultivate. There was, for example, no mention of murderers or rapists. But like Trump, Walker put forward the idea of a wall. Trouble was, Walker envisioned a wall, not along the border between Mexico and the United States, but between Canada and us.
Walker claimed that law enforcement officials had concerns about the world’s longest unarmed border. According to the Wisconsin governor, those officials saw our border with Canada as a possible source of a sort of “commuter crime.” with wrongdoers travelling back and forth with ease. Such ideas are, in my opinion, ludicrous.
I lived and worked in Canada for a year, teaching at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Halifax is an active, busy sea port; the capital of the province; and an urbane, multicultural environment. My time there was completely comfortable, enjoyable and safe. Not once in those months did I feel myself to be in danger.
Not only Halifax, but Canada in general refute the idea that multi-culturalism is dangerous, and a possible precursor to crime and even terrorism. If a wall on the United States – Mexico border is ludicrous, how much more so would one on our northern border be?
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