Border fence idea is insane

Editor:

In his letter to The Herald on Jan. 29, Mr. Moses Sorola writes that the proposed wall will protect Americans from people who want to harm us, bring peace and order to the border, reduce the drug trade and send a "do not cross" message to potential illegal "fer’ners."

I can just picture the industrious mojadito, staring at the intimidating wall and rearing his head in awe. He lowers his head, droops his shoulders and dejectedly walks back go Mexico.

Yeah, right.

Mr. Sorola blames a corrupt Mexican government for the root of our problems, "and unless we kill the root," he writes, "the problem will keep growing." Is Moses suggesting that we trample Mexico and eradicate its government? Hasn’t this kind of thinking gotten us into enough trouble already? Is the Mexican government shoving drugs down our throat? Is the Mexican government forcing its workers to come here? Is the Mexican government dictating America’s appetite for drugs and cheap labor? If it is, then our problem is not external, it’s internal, and building a wall along our borders is not going to make it go away.

Will the wall extend into the Gulf of Mexico? Will it interrupt planes, boats and submarines? Will it resist being demolished by explosives? Will it be so high and so deep that it will be impossible to scale or tunnel beneath it? Will the mere sight of the wall discourage potential illegal immigrants from crossing over?

Ninety-nine miles of ocean waters haven’t discouraged adventuresome Cubans from coming over, and you think a wall will discourage Mexicans?

Good reasons abound for building walls, but this one is insane. It is the absurdity of this idea that sensible people are protesting.

Italo J. Zarate

Brownsville