Building Trump's Wall

            The reverence of Christmas Eve and the festivities of Christmas Day have wound down. Yet there is hope that the Spirit of Christmas will continue into 2019 and help to heal our divided nation. As you may know, Congress failed to pass a bill with the $5 billion funding for building the wall along the border between the United States and Mexico.

            The Senate passed a bill without any funding, and President Donald Trump declared that he would not sign it. The House ignored the Senate’s bill and passed a bill with $5.7 billion funding.  The Senate failed to take action on the House’s bill, and Trump shut the government down. In reality, only a portion of the government is shut down because all the essential functions are still being done. However, the unwillingness of the Democrats to pass a bill with funding for the wall shows the great division in the nation.

            Americans should be asking a very important question: Why are the Democrats so against building a wall along the southern border? They claim that they are FOR national security, but they continually shoot down any bills that would strengthen it. First, they claim that a wall cannot be built along the border because of the mountains, rivers, and other physical challenges. Then they claim that there is no need to build a wall and that it would be a waste of money. It is obvious that they do not want a wall because there is proof that walls can be built in such territory and that they work to keep people in or out of certain areas.

            The longest and oldest known wall in the world is the Great Wall of China. It is officially 13,170.7 miles long and winds over “rugged country and steep mountains.” It is built on beaches, in rugged mountains, and through “a desert corridor between tall mountain ranges.” The Great Wall was the northern border of China. It has also been in place for 2,300 years. The average height of the wall is over 25 feet, and the tallest height is more than 45 feet. The wall was put on the World Heritage List by UNESCO in December 1987, and parts of it are visited by nearly 70,000 people per day. No work has been done on the wall for military purposes since 1644, and sections of it have entirely disappeared. Some bricks from the walls have been used to build homes, farms, or reservoirs since the Cultural Revolution (1966-1957).

            There are three main reasons why the Great Wall was built and rebuilt over the centuries: 

(1) to defend the border of the kingdom, (2) to be a barrier to trade, and (3) for tourists. Before China was united in 221 B.C. many states warred against each other hoping to expand their territory. To protect their territories from invaders, the princes and other leaders started to build high walls in the 7^th Century B.C. The wall was extended and strengthened in the last two centuries B.C. and particularly when the Silk Road was opened to exporting silk to the West. The wall continued to be “rebuilt, modified, and extended” to “protect the Chinese Empire from northern invaders.” China had leaders who thought that “Great Wall construction cost lots of money and manpower, which was bad for his people.” The year of 1957 saw the Great Wall becoming a tourist attraction.

            Another wall that is well known isthe wall built by the nation of Israel to stop suicide bombers. The media was once full of news about suicide bombers and terrorists from Palestine killing and/or injuring Israeli civilians. In the period of time between September 2000 and mid-2005, there were hundreds of attacks by suicide bombers and terrorists, and nearly 1,000 innocent people were killed with thousands more injured. The Israeli government decided that the only way to stop the attacks was to build a security fence along the “Green Line” that ran between Israel and the West Bank. “The project had the overwhelming support of the Israeli public and was deemed legal by Israel’s Supreme Court.”

            The fence, of course, brought outrage from the Palestinians and condemnation from the nations of the world. Israel as condemned even though other nations – including the United States - already had barriers to protect their borders. In fact, “Israel had already built a fence surrounding the Gaza Strip that had worked – not a single suicide bomber has managed to cross Israel’s border with Gaza.” The fence between Israel and the West Bank was built to protect against terrorists, and it works. “The value of the fence in saving lives is evident from the data: In 2002, the year before construction started, 457 Israelis were murdered; in 2009, 8 Israelis were killed.” The experience of Israel proves that border barriers protect innocent people.

            Another famous wall is the one between North Korea and South Korea. In fact, North Korea will soon be bordered by two walls because China is currently constructing a barrier between China and North Korea. This site lists more than thirty walls, fences, or barriers that are either in place, in the process of being constructed, or proposed. This alone tells us that the idea of a barrier along a border between two countries is neither new or out of place. Sometimes they are needed for protection from terrorists and others who desire to destroy a nation. Other times they are needed to protect the sovereignty of nations.

            So we return to the question of why Democrats are so against a border along the southern border. There is proof that borders can be built in many difficult places. There is proof that they work to protect the citizens and sovereignty of nations. There is even proof that there is financial worth is constructing borders against invaders.

            The Democrats claim that barriers do not work, and they do not want to allocate any taxpayer funds to building a wall. They are so against any type of barrier that they are even trying to stop the efforts of hundreds of thousands of Americans from funding the wall. The “WeThe People Will Fund the Wall" account has raised more than $17 million. Just as conservatives have rallied to the cause, Democrats have tried to stop it.

            Representative Sheila Jackson Lee(D-Texas) introduced a bill last week  – House Resolution 7332 – that would “prohibit taxpayer funds from being used to build a wall between Mexico and the United States, and for other purposes.” The bill has four co-sponsors: Representatives Karen Bass (D-CA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Marcia Fudge (D-OH), and Joaquin Castro (D-TX). It has also been referred to the House Judiciary Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee.

            Again, we must ask the question: What are the Democrat leaders afraid of? Why are they so against a fence, wall, or barrier along the southern border? Since some Democrats have contributed their money to the fund to build the wall, we know that this fear has not consumed all Democrats. The ones who have not “drunk the punch” being served by the Democrat leadership should abandon the party. If enough members of the party walk away, the leaders may regain their sanity. Meanwhile, wise Americans should be grateful that President Donald Trump is holding firm on his refusal to sign any budget bill that does not include funding for the wall.