I'm sure that this will be about as popular as the U.S. Congress and President are these days. I've thought about this mostly as a joke, but I'm wondering if this may not be an idea worth building upon.
Millions of Latin Americans enter the U.S. -- legally or illegally -- via the Mexican Border. This border cannot realistically be secured with 100% reliability. What we have can be improved with walls, fences and manpower, but let's face it, it's a long border.
Crazy as it sounds, if Mexico became U.S. territory (not a state -- at least not for now), then we have a much smaller border to worry about at the southeast end of Mexico. The resources of Mexico can be put to use to support the masses, not just the few fortunate enough to be born into the right family.
Imposing and enforcing U.S. employment laws in Mexico would greatly reduce the incentive for people to risk life and fortune to make a dangerous and illegal trip across an international border.
The Mexican government and upper echelon of their society will hate this idea, because it would jeopardize the "good thing" they have going.
The big downside, of course, is that this action would be decried by the international community viewed as an unprovoked, imperialistic and aggressive act.
Aggressive? - yes.
Imperialistic? - I'll give you that.
Unprovoked? - Absolutely not. The Mexican elite have been encouraging -- both directly and indirectly -- the lower class of their society to head north to the U.S. for a better life, for health care and education.
OK, I put my armor on ... start throwing your punches at this one! At the very least, the comments will be entertaining, right?
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Comments: 29
As for The United States annexing Mexico...isn't there talk of that already via the North American Union?
I don't know I think a ONE TIME fee for a border fence (of course doubled with electronic surveillance and minimal border agents) with minimal expense after that for a 95% solution sound practical, cost effective and reasonable.
The prime purpose - TO KEEP TERRORIST OUT, of course there will be side benefits.
If anyone disagrees and wants terrorists in here, please speak up.
PJ ... I don't know. Is there? I think it's an idea worth considering.
If we annexed them, then their citizens would be U.S. citizens.
Nice try.
You do have an idea, although not a very good one.
Annexing Mexico could have advantages. We could go after the drug cartels with impunity. We could tap the vast resourses underground that have never been exploited. Did you know they have vast Natural Gas and Oil reserves under that country? Doing what you suggest would cause at least 10 years of turmoil.
The NAU and those people are not only interested in the cheap labor they are interested in the natural resourses of that country.
Why not go on down a little further and use the Panama Cannel as our southern border?
When the NAU gets through making Canada, the US and Mexico one country I think they would be open to taking everything from Panama north for their new country "America". Hell that big highway they are trying to build is slated to go way down into South America anyway.
I'll share the flack with you. Never leave a buddy alone in a fox hole and all that ya know.
Maybe we should nuke them! : ) (I'm SOOOOO kidding...)
Thomas - What are they teaching in schools these days. We won that territory by vitrue of conquest. No annexing involved. It was called the Mexican American War and also the Revolution in Texas where Texas kicked the butts of a very big army with very few men. Texas became an independant nation and entered the United States by Treaty. The only state to do so.
Set 'em up at the border. Give instructions to shoot to kill anyone sneaking over ILLEGALLY. OR, how about we do what Mexico does on their Guatamala border?
Dan, we will always be damned if we do and damned if we don't. I still think you're idea is funny.
Maybe we can bring real football there while we're at it.
In enduring the burden of having to subsist in this climate of presumed prevailing conquest and yes, utter imperialism, as one of the people of this great land of ours, I believe you've been snookered a bit my friend.
Although I appreciate your honest and lucid approach to the delivery of your idea, I sense that from your own words, you acknowledge the problems and the resistance you would come to realize beyond this forum with such a proposition.
As an example, you have to keep in mind, is that the subjugation that this current administration holds not only over seas, but over it's own citizens right here is carefully engineered to benefit just a few that are the privileged and not you or I or the majority of the population in the United States. The imbalance will only get worse.
This what Imperialism has historically been all about. The reinforcement and practice of it here more and more and so close to home will only continue to serve to widen the class gap in a domestic sense. Rest assured that our leaders would only exploit this with the intent to profit. They'd surely be sending in defense contractors to Mexico (and here to) too spending our tax dollars as wildly as ever. Perhaps they'd call them "solidarity contractors" since it would be as much a mockery of solidarity as "patriot Act" is to true Patriotism.
These are the same kind of people, (but on a significantly larger scale) as those tyrants over the destitute of Mexico, precipitating their exodus in the first place. It is a dangerous and subtly creeping mindset that you've allowed yourself to subscribe to as Rachel had so aptly brought to the forefront here for all our safety and recognition.
If there were more people like Rachel and Mr. Millington there would undoubtedly be fewer wars and conflict and thus a much less appealing profit generating proposition by having them. Or perhaps not, when you consider the magnitude of the greed and audacity we've had to endure here from those who've ascended to power these days.
I think the result of absorbing Mexico would be another excuse for more of a free for all with our tax dollars. Dan, other solutions need to be explored instead I'd say. However you get loads of points for provoking something here in this forum!
Oh and one other thing, it always weakens your posture when those on either side of the isle start pointing the finger and yelling some partisan imputation for the purpose of creating more division. I know that wagging the conservative vs. liberal finger is a lot easier than taking the time to explain but on the other hand you cover zero ground when the day is over.
If you really believe in your cause, make every effort to use your infallible logic to make them see your point. You cant' ever win without numbers and moreover it forces you to more thoroughly examine your own points making them ultimately more viable after you've thought them through.
Alexander
Let's get one thing straight ... I'm not in any way in favor of an invasion of Mexico. I think that we need them as an ally and a friend. (Although many Americans think we need them as a cheap labor force.)
Like many other articles that I post and comment on, I want to see some new ideas -- however off the wall they may be -- instead of Republicans blaming Democrats and vice verse. Don't we all get tired of that after a while?
Brainstorming is often the first step in resolving serious problems. How about some fresh ideas in lieu of complaints about the old ones!