"Freedom has many flaws and our democracy is imperfect but we have never had to put up a wall to keep our people in "John Fitzgerald Kennedy
President USA 1961--1963
To many of us watching from the outside, the American spirit represents the ideal which we all continually hope for, and wished our leaders (especially in the third world countries ) would aspire to. Indeed no one can argue against the fact that as the leader of the Free World, America has the right and might to build its own walls if, and when it chooses to.
But when the spirit and the passion behind the call for the erection of that kind of wall is blurred along the lines of diabolical Puritanism and inflammable global impact -- when that spirit and passion is mixed in a crucible of racism, demagoguery and divisiveness, it leaves us scurrying to the annals of history in search of precedents.
The most recent that comes to mind is the Berlin wall. The second world war, as we learnt was a brutal affair. About a decade after the war ended, a new high in global suspicions, a growing cold war between the US and USSR, and dangerous diplomatic intrigues yielded a new world order: The Eastern bloc led by the USSR and WARSAW Pact Nations, and the Western bloc championed by the US, UK, France and NATO .
The USSR took charge of East Germany, (ironically called the German Democratic Republic) which at the time was the most advanced Communist economy. However, the USSR's Iron fist suppressed real democracy and stifled the economy in East Germany.
On the other hand, West Germany, (Federal Republic of Germany)had the opportunity to re-develop its economy and set itself on a path to economic growth. In the East, a certain paranoia developed. The walls of the Kremlin and the halls of government in East Germany became troubled. Deep suspicions grew deeper. The East German government prodded by the Kremlin decided to build an 'antifascist protective wall'.
The East German propaganda machine worked on its people. They created a state of perpetual fear -- fear of military aggression and political interference from the west. In simple terms, the story sold to the East German people (although they really had no say in the matter), was that the Berlin wall would protect East Germany from being invaded by West Germany and its NATO allies. In 1961, the Berlin wall was erected.
Today, the most advanced economy in the world, America is being preyed upon by the grand marketers of fear, divisiveness and racism embodied in one lugubrious presidential candidate doling out sick vituperations and eerie jokes aimed at entrenching a climate of fear and suspiciousness in all of America.
Today the most advanced economy in the world is placed under enormous pressure by one presidential candidate running on the fuel of national fear and appealing to a macabre patriotism that is globally symbolic of fascism.
Today the most advanced economy in the world, with arguably the most advanced military apparatus in the world is belittled by one presidential candidate calling for the erection of a wall to prevent the invasion by 'economic refugees' and 'scant terrorism' . This is a visual we hope all of America will hold in their sights for a long time to come, because if that candidate squirms his way into the white house, the emergence of a new global chaos may be totally inevitable.
Let's back-track for a minute. So in 1961 the Berlin wall was erected ostensibly to keep West Germany and its allies from invading East Germany. Once the wall was in place the real reason behind the wall became evident. It was to prevent East Germans from fleeing the country whose economy was ailing and whose political ethos was stifling genuine growth and socio-economic development.
So may be in 2016 or early 2017 a wall would be erected in America (paid for by the Mexicans) ostensibly to keep the Mexican immigrants (economic refugees ) from invading America.
So may be in 2016 or early 2017 some 11 Million other undocumented immigrants whose sole purpose is to seek better economic environment for themselves and their families would be deported from America in a veiled act of economic cleansing, all in a bid to jump start the American economy.
So maybe in 2016 or early 2017 after the construction of this wall and the deportation of undocumented immigrants the American economy would immediately magically hit seventh heaven and leave the economy of China dazed in its wake.
Well unfortunately even if the wall was built today and undocumented immigrants deported today, this would have no positive impact on the American economy whatsoever. The reason is simple.
The State of America's economy is not independent of happenings in the global space. There is a global economic downturn. Any Nation whose leader cannot see this really cannot claim to have any idea of how to tackle his own country's economic problems. America's economy is in a peculiar situation. America's economy is the largest economy on the world. The American Government's expenses are the highest in the world and this did not happen as a result of Barrack Obama being President of the U.S. or Hillary Clinton being Secretary of State. To assume that either of these two personalities were the cause of America's economic woes would seriously question the present Republican Presidential candidate's understanding of the workings of a huge economy like America's.
America's federal deficit has been the subject of huge debate way before Obama even dreamt he would be President Of The United States. As a matter of fact this was one of the major issues championed by Henry Ross Perot in his campaign in 1992 for the Presidency. Perot (Independent) and Bill Clinton (Democratic) candidate, placed the Nation's economic deficit at the centre of their campaign arguments. As far back as 1992 Ross Perot had warned that the American economy would suffer catastrophically if the nation could not discipline itself and bring the National debt under control. This was as far back as 1992.
But the 1992 Presidential debates and campaign argument were not about racism and the psychological brutalization of undocumented immigrants because the major contestants understood what was important to Make America Great Again. And so a certain Bill Clinton won the elections. 8 years after, it is on record that America's record budget deficit became record budget surplus. It is on record that 22 Million new jobs were created and the country's unemployment rate and inflation really went down.
Clinton's government established a fiscal discipline and PAID OFF the America's debt. The key word here is PAID OFF not PARED. And in the 8 years of Clinton's government he did not 'build that wall', and he did not mass deport undocumented immigrants. But of course this is the less troubling side of my argument.
The more troubling side of my argument is this: If a candidate whose experience in business is characterized by corporate bankruptcy, and a twisted way of using the laws of the country to pare debt-- if that candidate manages to get into the white house he would hardly understand the intricacies of a huge economy like America's . Indeed with his mindset he would believe that once he built that wall and got rid of 11 million undocumented immigrants he would have created a brilliant economic surplus. And because he so is fixated on this, real issues that need urgent attention in American and global economics for even America to prosper would be left untended.
And God forbid, as the country begins to gradually drift into bankruptcy Americans would begin to leave America by the droves.
And because he has no idea of what global inter-relations mean, he would clamp down on America's Airports and prevent American businessmen from taking their businesses abroad. Then the real import of that candidate's desire to build 'that kind of wall' would gradually dawn on Americans: The wall would not be to keep Mexicans from coming in, rather it would be to keep Americans from going out. This candidate who is so fascinated with Russia would then gradually peel off all his pretences to democratic ideals and unleash the full weight of a new brand of communism in America.
This is a gloomy picture, and I admit a stretch of my imagination. 
But maybe a little admonishing from a 1964 speech by Sir Winston Churchill would drive home a point: "The United States at this time stands at the pinnacle of power. It is a solemn moment for the American democracy. For with primacy in power is joined an awe-inspiring accountability to the future. "
Accountability to the future.
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