STRATEGY PROPOSAL #12
We need to push Congress and voters toward a serious evaluation of how global warming will – and should – affect America's laws and actions on immigration, the southern border, and "Lifeboat America".
Years ago, Dan Carlin (one of the most popular and respected podcasters in the world; he creates both Hardcore History, and Common Sense) interviewed Gwynne Dyer. Dyer is a military expert; he has belonged to the armies of each of Canada, America, and France, and he has written numerous books about military history, war, and how wars affect societies and nations.
Although Carlin did not focus on it, he mentioned that Dyer’s 2010 book, Climate Wars, disclosed a startling fact: because of what the military already knew about global warming, back before 2010, when Dyer was talking with them and writing his book, the military strategists already had started planning on, and creating computer models and simulations of, how the American military will someday create a “hard closure” of the border between the US and Mexico.
In that context, “hard closure” means “shoot to kill”, because the people who will be trying to cross the border, and come north, will be so desperate that they absolutely will not stop voluntarily. One way to grasp the seriousness of what is actually going to happen, is to realize, and learn to actually accept, the following: they would rather die quickly, from a bullet, than endure a slow and agonizing death, from starvation.
Before anyone attacks or disputes Dyer's assessment, and declares it to be heartless, horrible, and other bad things, a few impartial experts, journalists, and historians should study and analyze his book, and give their own summaries and assessments of what Dyer actually said, and why. They should also meet and work with Dyer, and with the top military leaders and experts in that field, and with the authors of other books which predict that the wars of this century will be created and driven by climate change (e.g., Climate Wars: What People Will Be Killed For in the 21st Century (Welzer and Camiller, 2017). The experts, journalists, and historians should report back to the rest of us, about any updated and more current assessments, whether they agree with them, and what they would propose, as the best way for America to get ready for the crises that are coming at us.
No one who contributed to this website has actually read Dyer’s book, because none of us have any desire to begin studying (or trying to predict) how or when militaries around the world will be ordered to become actively involved in fighting climate-driven wars. Instead, we would much rather hear and read carefully-considered, well-written summaries of what military experts (or, at least, journalists or historians who have interviewed those experts) believe, and predict, about this subject.
These military questions are something that anyone who cares about global warming should look into, and ask about, and talk about, publicly. There likely are some very unsettling things, lurking beneath that surface, which might help get the public to better understand why all of us need to try to slow down global warming. If those things come from the military, rather than liberals, maybe some Republicans in Congress might actually listen to them.
Moving beyond questions about what the military might be ordered to do, some day, several other factors, concerning immigration, stand out as just plain, straight-forward, undeniable logic and reality:
1. There will be food shortages, around the world, and in the US. Even if we could somehow ignore and set aside the risk of droughts, floods, and other local or regional problems, here in America, the blunt fact is that farmers throughout the western half of the US have been severely and rapidly depleting the massive aquifers that have been providing them with water to irrigate their crops. Put simply, the aquifers beneath the US are being sucked dry, and are disappearing at severe and alarming rates. When Europeans settled the American west, the Ogallala and Edwards aquifers were two of the largest, most massive aquifers anywhere in the world. However, now, they are two of the most badly and severely depleted aquifers, anywhere in the world. If anyone doesn't recognize both of those aquifer names, they should go look at a map of each one, which can be readily found in Wikipedia. And, it will take thousands of years, for nature to replenish them.
2. If there is a limited supply of food, and if people are being forced into rationing, prolonged hunger, or even starvation, the painfully obvious fact is that the more people there are, who will need some of that limited food supply, the less food there will be, for each person.
3. The more people we allow to come into America, and stay, between now and the start of "the hungry years", the worse the conditions will be, for everyone who lives here, once "the hungry years" begin in grim seriousness.
That condition (along with other, related factors) is a brief and blunt summary of (or perhaps the set-up for) what some people call the "Lifeboat America" concept, or principle, or problem. Put simply, a small lifeboat simply cannot carry everyone, if a large ship sinks; and, if everyone in the water is allowed to try to climb on board a lifeboat, that lifeboat will sink, and will save no one. Regardless of whether someone respects that principle as a sad but necessary fact, or finds it repulsive and abhorrent to talk calmly about deliberately planning (or plotting) to allow (or cause) innocent people to die, any environmental advocate needs to be prepared, and able, to calmly and intelligently discuss the "Lifeboat America" concept, if they hope to change the mind of anyone who does not already agree with them.
Beyond that, we will offer one other comment: people who are trying their best to reduce and control global warming will never be able to convince any devoted Trump followers to change their positions, and it is a waste of time to even try. The idea that a devoted Trump follower will ever say somethng like, "Well, a liberal person told me something that I realized was true, and persuasive, and so I've decided to change my position on global warming," is about as unlikely as any scenario we can imagine. Instead, those who are fighting the good fight need to focus on trying to reach and persuade moderates, instead.
And, the one single factor that angers, aggravates, turns off, and even infuriates moderate Republicans, more than any other, is an accusation which is being repeated to them, daily, by Republican politicians, "conservative commentators", and others. That accusation is this: Democrats want to allow lots and lots of Latinos and other non-US-citizens to come to America, and begin voting, because the Democrats think that those newcomers will vote for Democrats.
That accusation can be – and is being – pitched to moderate Republicans, at levels which most Democrats simply do not seem to realize, or recognize. And, in the minds of a lot of moderate, common-sense, salt-of-the-earth, good, solid, and stable Republicans, that accusation – and the belief that Democrats are actually doing that – verges dangerously close to treason, by Democrats, against America, and against everything America stands for, and against everything that made America great, in the past.
Yes, they know that America was built by immigrants, and that immigrants who brought skills and good work ethics to America have done enormous good, to help make America powerful, and prosperous. But they also have an instinctive realization that there is profound wisdom in the great maxim attributed to Aristotle: "Moderation in everything." And, they believe that if we stop immigration now, or at least cut it back sharply, then that would be a good moderating position, after the last few years of largely uncontrolled numbers arriving across the Mexican border, and from every other country that lapsed into either some kind of crisis mode, or just a squalid level of over-population.
One more factor also needs to be pointed out, to any and all Democrats who believe that most Latinos tend to support Democrats. The people who came to the US from Mexico, central America, and elsewhere, know – all too well, and better than nearly any American – what severe overpopulation looks like, and what it causes. They know what poverty and hunger really are, and how bad they are; and, they also know, all too well, that those levels of over-population, over-crowding, hunger, poverty, squalor, and hopelessness actively spawn criminal gangs, which soon begin fighting and killing rival gang members, and then preying upon innocent people who are simply trying to live, work, and raise their families, in whatever area some gang controls, or even just wants to control. Poverty and overpopulation turn gangs, and gang members, into utterly and grotesquely ruthless, vicious, violent, and destructive predator-parasites. The threats being created and posed, by those gangs, is a huge and crucial part of why so many people are desperately trying to leave their home countries, and come to America, today; and, the people trying desperately to get into America know – all too well – that the single most important factor, by far, which seeds and then fertilizes, nurtures, and grows those gangs, is over-population, and over-crowding.
So, how do THEY feel, about having more, and more, and endlessly more immigrants, from their countries, continuing to show up here?
Large numbers of them have gradually realized that allowing in large numbers of even more people who speak Spanish as their native language poses grave long-term risks, to them, more than to any other group, in any location, anywhere in America. Why? Because the new arrivals will begin competing – directly, and aggressively – against exactly those people from the same countries and cultures, for those limited numbers of "niche" positions that are available, for people who can only speak Spanish. Put simply and bluntly, the people who are already here, from Spanish-speaking countries, do NOT want an endless flood of even more people, who can only speak Spanish, when they arrive. The ones who are already here – now that they have arrived, and have settled in, and found jobs, and have managed to find and buy places to live – probably would prefer to see any future immigration numbers reduced, starting as soon as possible. They do not want the types of over-population, crowding, squalor, and crime which they managed to escape, following them up here.
Republicans are crowing, loudly, over the large and growing numbers of Latinos who have recently shifted away from voting consistently and reliably for Democrats, and who have begun to vote for Republicans, instead. The people who wrote this website do not claim or pretend to be experts in such matters, but we would suggest that the factor described above is probably one of the most important factors, in the decisions and in the minds of hundreds of thousands of Latinos, to shift their allegiance to Republicans, rather than Democrats. Why? Because the Republicans offer them the best hope of protecting the positions they have fought hard to create and reach.
So, we would recommend – to any Democrat in Congress, and to all Democratic candidates in any race, anywhere in the US – that they openly announce that they are willing to seriously consider shifting to a new and different policy on immigration, and that they want to begin hearing from both voters, and campaign contributors, about what their positions are.
The "preface", in any initial announcement, can be anything along the following lines:
"This has become a major topic of conversation, so I need to face up to it, directly. Instead of me taking a firm or hard position on it, at this time, I am simply stating that I am willing to consider it, seriously and carefully, if the voters in my district [or state] say they want me to. So . . . everyone out there . . . what is YOUR opinion?"
The position itself can be summed up in four sentences, which assert that global warming is rapidly becoming a compelling factor that is going to require every political leader in America – including Democratic candidates and politicians – to begin a serious and informed re-evaluation of their position on immigration. Those four sentences are:
"At this time, we simply do not know, and cannot predict, how bad global warming will become, or how much damage it will inflict on America, or how rapidly things will get worse. As just one example, we do not know how much longer the state of Florida can last, or will last, and we do not know how, or even whether, the rest of America will be able to make the massive accommodations and sacrifices that will be necessary, for people in the other states to take in the US citizens who will be forced to flee north, from Florida. Therefore, as a Democrat, I have decided that the best and wisest course of action, for now, is to take a cautious approach, and to face up to our obligations to serve the people living in America who are already our citizens, and taxpayers. Therefore, since global warming is real, and has already started to become horribly, horribly destructive, my position is that unless and until we can get realistic and reliable answers to currently unanswerable questions of massive importance, I will support any reasonable measure which limits the number of new and additional immigrants that are allowed to come to America."
Our belief (and hope) is that if some Democratic candidates for Congress would begin to at least seriously evaluate and openly discuss the position set forth in the four sentences above, then: (i) it could and would have positive and beneficial effects, and results, for America; (ii) it would attract serious attention, and possibly campaign contributions, from any number of wealthy potential campaign donors; (iii) it would give the Latino community a chance to weigh in, and tell people how they feel about letting more and more Latinos come here; and, (iv) by focusing squarely on Florida, it could become a powerful and effective way to turn Donald Trump's appallingly reckless, ignorant, and dangerous refusal to take global warming seriously, into a major and truly worthwhile campaign issue.
So, we urge any Democratic candidate, for any office, to at least consider shifting to the position summarized above.