natalie's narrative

The moral construction of "illegal"

Language is an important tool in shaping perception.  The "toxic assets" of the 2008 financial crisis are now "legacy assets." A common practice discussed in a piece of legislation becomes a "death panel," and quickly garners opposition.  One of the most prominent--and de-humanizing--uses of language is within the immigration debate.  I saw this on Racewire today regarding the use of the word "illegal":

The real lie here is that we’re all illegal, and there’s no way of reframing this to make it anything but the truth. The United States began as a colony by a colonial empire, yet we behave as if we’ve always been here. As if the sins of our past conquest make us better than the crisis of globalization we’ve helped to create and the people caught within it. The whole notion of “illegal” is an artificial construction designed to dehumanize, deprioritize and deport without any tugging on our American heartstring. I’m not an “illegal” because I’ve run a red light, pirated software, cheated on taxes, or am Queer – because these actions don’t violate the notion that I’m still an American citizen. But take away that citizenship, built on a false sense of global security and conquest, and somehow I’m not human?

Working within the framework of "illegal" vs. "legal" imposes a status on a group of people that is reminiscent of our country's history of slavery and is based on a broken, draconian, outdated system of laws.  I'm trying to break out of this framework, whether with immigration, healthcare, or the economy, because words can have so much power without us even realizing it.

Obama's speech to schoolchildren

I just read the text of President Obama's speech he plans to give to U.S. schoolchildren tomorrow.  How DARE he say "God bless you."  I'm protesting - this is a violation of separation of church and state!!!  :)

Put it on the television screen they'll believe it

I've been listening to Slaid Cleaves a lot lately, and I like his song "Beautiful Thing."  The lyrics explain the political climate of our country so well:

Surrogates and shadowy henchmen galore
Party hacks and swiftboat and talk show whores
Look at all the lies it takes the job of making cakes

You can own the truth, you just gotta conceive it
Put it on the television screen they'll believe it
It's a beautiful thing, it's a beautiful thing

Wonder how our leaders would ever deceive us
While the profiteers count their cash and praise Jesus
The press sings another chorus of "Let Freedom Ring"

We send our boys away to come home in parts
Believe the lies with all our hearts
It's a beautiful thing, it's a beautiful thing

Dissension is a song only fools and traitors sing
Just look at all the benefits your global economy brings

Today we sing the gilded ages song
Twentieth century's dead and gone
It's a beautiful thing, it's a beautiful thing

We live in a land of hope and betrayal
I get up each morning and try to tell the tale
And so until my dying day whatever fate may bring

The dark age looms, there's evil out here
Somehow I still believe in the goodness of man
It's a beautiful thing, it's a beautiful thing
It's a beautiful thing, it's a beautiful thing

Read this now!

We are covering the death penalty in my criminal law class, so I decided to read a lengthy article in the New Yorker about a man in Texas who was sentenced to death, but who maintained until the end that he was innocent.  The piece is pretty long, but worth a read: Trial by Fire.  It is also extremely sad.  I really hope we can see changes soon with this system...