Some Daily Kos readers gave me (a relative newcomer to Daily Kos) a quick lesson about a few things yesterday:
- Don’t ever post a one paragraph diary entry.
- Expect there will be closed minds at the progressive end of the spectrum just as there are at the conservative end.
- Avoid mentioning Lou Dobbs. (I cringed when I titled this post)
- There is enough excess baggage about immigration that the fees alone would lift Frontier Airlines out of bankruptcy.
Of course I knew about #4, but it never hurts to be reminded. And reminded I was, by a barrage of comments branding Dobbs a racist and leaping to a number of conclusions about immigration policy and humanitarianism.
Keep reading for a quick explanation of my brief post yesterday, an apology, more information about that progressive viewpoint I promised, and some bag-checking.
I didn't have time to write a long post yesterday, but thought readers might want a chance to hear a guest scheduled to appear on Lou Dobbs’ program last night. In my haste I failed to provide adequate detail about that guest. I apologize for that. But I also must apologize for the fact that apparently I was misled. That guest was not on Lou Dobbs last night. Here’s a brief blurb from the email which misinformed me:
Tonight, on June 23, 2009, Leah Durant, Executive Director of Progressives for Immigration Reform will appear as a guest on Lou Dobbs Tonight. Leah will be discussing the results of PFIR's newly released poll which demonstrates that liberals are concerned about the current levels of immigration into the United States and the harmful effect that current immigration policies are having on U.S. population growth, the environment, and the availability of jobs. The poll was conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC in April 2009.
Progressives for Immigration Reform tells me Leah was bumped yesterday due to breaking news.
Now, I thought progressive thinkers might be curious about the poll and what Leah has to say. It would have helped if I’d included that info. in my post. I was racing out the door to make an appointment, and unfortunately CNN runs by the clock. No word on when Durant will be rescheduled, but you can find her organization and a quick look at the survey here. Some very interesting inconsistencies that might be worth a future discussion.
Aside from the scolding I got for a short diary post, I was shocked at how many commenters were so certain Lou Dobbs is a racist and a scumbag that they would not view his program even if he would be interviewing JFK.
Now, Lou Dobbs is very opinionated when it comes to illegal immigration, and I do not view his program daily, so I haven’t heard every one of his rants about immigration. However, of the ones I have heard (probably a couple dozen), I have not gotten the impression he is racist. I grant that if a viewer was already convinced those who oppose illegal immigration are racists, that viewer might be able to view a Dobbs immigration rant and not get any information to dissuade them of that conviction. I suspect such a viewer’s bias might result in leaping to an unfair conclusion about Mr. Dobbs. I value an open mind, so if any of the Dobbs disparagers wants to present a verbatim quote or other credible information proving Lou Dobbs is a racist, let's see it.
While speculation about Lou Dobbs’ motives for his position against illegal immigration distracts us from much more important points related to immigration policy as part of a sustainable population policy, I believe there is value to clearing the air about Dobbs first. After all, studying and discussing the baggage we all bring to the immigration conversation will help us to eventually curb-check that baggage – so we can have more logical, big-picture conversations.
I know for a fact there are many well-informed, compassionate, liberal environmentalists who believe each nation should take some responsibility for its growing population. A growing population – for example - makes meeting meaningful greenhouse gas reduction targets extremely difficult if not impossible for the U.S. and several other countries. For these environmentalists, a sustainable population policy has nothing to do with race and everything to do with compassion for all the children and grandchildren of the world.
Jonathon Porritt, chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, recently provided some interesting commentary on this baggage. I recommend you give it a read.
So, let’s see if we can get this excess emotional baggage checked, and then move on to some interesting, fact-based conversations about population, immigration and other issues related to the values our society may want to embrace in order to become a sustainable civilization.
Dave Gardner is producing the documentary, Hooked on Growth: Our Misguided Quest for Prosperity, which examines the addictions and myths we must leave behind in order to become a sustainable civilization. Join the global network of fans and supporters at www.growthbusters.com