originally published on nwasianweekly.com
April 28, 2007

BACK TO ANN-MARIE STILLION: WRITING

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By Ann-Marie Stillion
Northwest Asian Weekly

Only when the last tree has
been cut down,
Only when the last river has
been poisoned,
Only when the last fish has
been caught,
Only then will you find that
money cannot be eaten.
—From Cree prophecy

This year the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, Va. -- the first permanent English settlement in the United States -- was marked by a change of tone. Once referred to as a celebration, the commemoration will now acknowledge the darker side of the event. The arrival of those first immigrants signaled the beginning of the dream of America for many, and the end of time for the tribes of native people that spanned the continent. In other words, the legacy of American immigration has always been a bright arc for some and a trail of tears for others.

On our eastern shore, Lady Liberty’s broken chains lie still at her feet, a symbol for the end of oppression and tyranny. Every day, people arrive from around the globe, following real and imagined futures. By some accounts, 200 million people worldwide are circling the globe, searching for economic or political freedom, and seeking to break free from a host of other ills.

A few weeks ago, my colleagues here at the paper editorialized on the subject of immigration, pointing to the fact that new Americans are filling up cities that otherwise may have stagnated in their numbers. It is the economic argument for encouraging immigration at a time when the value of sharing economic and democratic progress is under attack in some quarters.

When the editorial first came across my desk, faces of the lonely, sick and poor peered at me from the silent gloom.

More is not necessarily better. Promoting immigration as an economic solution to dwindling cities reduces human beings to cogs in a wheel. The earth groans under our weight. Just having more people to buy things and pump the economy describes a futile future — one that is dumb to our impacts. What about our responsibility to one another, to future generations, no matter what their race or culture? What about using our natural resources, our immediate geography, but also the earth itself, in a way that is sustainable? That is another important part of the immigration question.

Why not solve problems we face now? Why don’t we educate, care for and tend to the roots already put down? As we adopt new citizens, let’s do so carefully, tending to issues of language, culture, land and those who live here as well as those who are coming. This seems impossible in a big country bursting with needs, but we must try.

There is a lot to be said about what immigrants bring to society, but sheer numbers is hardly one of them. Our great numbers are chewing up the planet at a terrible rate. Population is a problem to be solved, not a solution in itself.

Sure, the corporate world is excited that there is more to buy and sell. Politicians stand ready to adopt whole new populations, eager for new constituencies. The cold calculation of politics and business is sickening to me in this regard.

There are human and environmental costs in the current free-for-all of immigration in America, that can rip off workers and at the same time give others the experience of having access to services, products and experiences that otherwise would be out of reach. At least for a while. We are waking up to the meaning of that box of $1.50 organic strawberries or that $2 hamburger. Somewhere, someone or something is being exploited.

I was recently back in my hometown in the Southwest. What was once open space is an endless sea of tract homes and big-box stores. Paved over, just like that. Late last night, I was riding home in a taxi. I looked out over the city from the bridge. Is this it? A planet paved and lit? What about the birds, the bears, the rivers? What about the people who live in those spots of light? Are their dreams lovely? Their needs well met?

Our promise of liberty needs not just to stand, but to stand for something. That’s what we must aim for.

Let’s come up with good, healthy arguments about immigration, not feed one another myths about the need for more, for having it all. That dream is no longer sustainable. If you ask the native people of this beautiful land, it never was.