An illustration I saw in a recent edition of "Speak Out". For those of you not from the Southeast Missouri area, "Speak Out" is a long running feature in our local newspaper (creatively named, "The Southeast Missourian"), where people can call in, and leave reasonably short, anonymous messages. Editors go through, pick out the good ones, and publish them on the OP-ED page. Sometimes, they only show the ignorance of the local public, but often, a few good ones surface.
You come home late one night, and find out that your home has been broken into. Well, maybe not "broken" into, since you did leave the back door unlocked. And these aren't your typical thieves or crooks. They've come in, taken out the trash, washed the dishes, cleaned up (actually, more like "cleaned out") your teenage son's pig-sty of a room, cleaned out the cat's litter pan, changed the oil in the car, and every other dirty, disgusting job you've been putting off for some time. And they've done a pretty good job. But they've also helped themselves to the fridge, and gotten a snack or three. They're using your washing machine (their clothes did get a bit dirty dealing with the kitty litter and the Fram oil filter, after all...), your phone (ordering the dumpster to deal with all the stuff out of the teenage son's room...), and making themselves quite at home. But, hey, they are doing all the stuff you'd been putting off, hoping that your son, your spouce, SOMEONE would have done.
But now, you're getting concerned. You barely know their first names, to say nothing about where they're from, what they've done prior to the extreme (and needed) makeover they've just given your house. You have no idea who their friends are, who are coming on to your front lawn and back patio right now, nor what their intentions are... OK, maybe they ought to go.
"NO!" they say. "We have the right to be here. We've done the work you weren't doing! Besides, aren't you the great-grandchild of immigrants? You're just like us!"
Have we forgotten one little fact in this story, in fact, one of the first? They did break into our house. Shame on us for not locking the door, and shame on us for not realizing that regardless of the kitty litter being changed, that uninvited guests are no guests at all. If I want someone to do the work I don't want to do, I interview them. I find out as much as I can about them. Background checks are a must if they deal in any way with my children or my wife. I don't just accept who breaks into my house in the dead of night, when I'm not watching.
Amnesty? Citizenship? How 'bout coming into my house the right way. Knock on the door, ring the door bell. Don't just barge in like you own the place. Respect the rules I have for my house. Stay off the grass. Don't park your car in the flower bed. Come in legally. Then, and only then, I might hire you to take out the garbage. If you pass the interview...
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