Borders, Division, and the Seemingly Inevitable Decline of Humanity

As we move from the past, through the present, and towards the future, it is easy to see this movement as progression. However, it is important to recognize that not all change is progress. In the except from Storming the Wall there is a large theme circling borders and border control and there was one section in particular that resonated with me.

“There is a strong probability that even Americans who support Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ border wall might soon be on the outside of an internal border, looking in.” (113)

This was important to me because it reflected the humanity of society today and gave insight to a potential future in the United States. I find that it is easy for people to make an enemy of refugees coming into the United States from other countries, but there is a sort of empathy that appears to be lacking in this mentality. The very people who are staunchly against immigration and refugees, are either unaware or are in denial of the fact that anyone can become a refugee, themselves included. 

I find that this also reflected the humanity (or lack thereof) that is found in The Water Knife as well as in The Grapes of Wrath. In The Water Knife, there are significant borders between states that perpetuate an “us-vs-them” mentality, but the “us” and the “them” are both citizens of the United States. In fact, they are neighbors; they are residents of bordering states. This is also true in The Grapes of Wrath regarding the bum blockades and the tension between Californians and the “Okies” who fled to their state. Again, they are both citizens of the U.S., but the tragic reality though is that this does not really seem to matter all that much, especially with the pressures of global climate change and the resulting drought in the American southwest.

America is so very divided today, and I fear that time might not actually be able to heal this wound, but it might actually make it worse. We, as citizens of this world, owe it to the planet to respect all of the life it sustains, which also means we need to respect the resources that it provides in order to sustain that life, but we don’t have much time left to change our ways in order to respect these resources and the lives that need them. Due to this ignorance or plain negligence, I admit I am a bit fearful of the future of the United States and its people.