No, Malkin is not Maher

For cryin’ out loud, Michelle Malkin is not Bill Maher – not even close – not even in the same time-zone, and I think that is a silly charge to make – one that over-reacts in precisely the same way that some feel Michelle over-reacted.

But I can understand why some were unhappy with her post on “Open Borders and the Catholic Elite”, which echoed SOME the sort of cynical crap I’ve seen in nasty emails when I have dared to go against “the base” on illegal immigration. I was very sorry to read, “Open borders benefit Catholic churches looking to fill their pews and collection baskets,” and “Catholic elites can afford to harangue us about our perceived lack of “humanity…”

I completely agree with Michelle that America remains “the most generous and welcoming nation in the world to those who line up and play by the rules,” and I despise the sort of Catholic who runs around pointing fingers and screeching “heretic, heretic!” at another. I also agree with her that the issue urgently needs addressing and realistic solutions; where we part is more in method and means than in meaning. I was disappointed to read some of what she wrote, but Michelle has strong opinions and she’s certainly entitled to speak them. We do not all, always and at all times, have to agree.

Where people disagree on this issue, their disagreement should be permissible without rancor or venom. My own position on the illegal immigration – that we need to enforce the borders, but also to create a sort of Ellis Island West and that we cannot ever forget the humanity of these people – is pretty much in line with the bishops, and I can tell you that it is not motivated by a desire to “sit asses in the pews,” as some have accused me. I think it would be odd indeed to hear clergymen (or the pope) suggest anything less than – first and foremost – concern for the well-being of the human person, and then for the practical and political solutions. And I would suggest I am far from being a member of the “Catholic Elite,” whatever that means.

Hell, I liked the Gregorian Chant mixed with tribal rhythms that upset some Catholics a few says ago! :-)

The illegal immigration issue has not been particularly well served by breathlessness. It needs to be addressed. Every day the need becomes more pressing…and nothing is happening on that front. I don’t think much will until people on every side can manage to take a breath and find some common ground. That should not be impossible. But the rhetoric surrounding illegal immigration is sometimes a bit much – even out of control – as one can see in ANY comments section of ANY blog that covers it.