Letter to the Editor: Walls won’t keep people or contraband out, nor will they last

January 17, 2019 Utah Channel 3

OPINION — For your consideration, examples of failed walls.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall(s) of China were built as a defense system against enemies from the north such as the Mongols. But the wall(s) did not succeed in keeping out the barbarians. Genghis Kahn invaded and conquered China.

Apart from defense, other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration. An archaeological survey found that the entire wall with all of its branches measures out to be 21,196 km (13,171 mi) requiring centuries to build. Today, the Great Wall is generally recognized as one of the most impressive architectural feats in history.

The Great Wall(s) has been rebuilt, maintained and enhanced over various dynasties. Intending to impose centralized rule and prevent the resurgence of feudal lords, King Zheng of Qin ordered the destruction of the sections of the walls that divided his empire among the former states. To position the empire against the Xiongnu people from the north, however, he ordered the building of new walls to connect the remaining fortifications along the empire’s northern frontier.

“Build and move on” was a central guiding principle in constructing the wall, implying that the Chinese were not erecting a permanently fixed border. The Han, the Sui, and the Northern dynasties all repaired, rebuilt, or expanded sections of the Great Wall at great cost to defend themselves against northern invaders.

The Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties, who ruled Northern China throughout most of the 10th–13th centuries, constructed defensive walls in the 12th century, but those were located much to the north of the Great Wall as we know it, within China’s province of Inner Mongolia and in Mongolia itself. Wall building exhausted much of the economic muscle of China. Much of the resulting walls are not visible today. Walls don’t keep. They get torn down, and they decay and waste away.

The Berlin Wall

Following WWII the Soviets built a wall to fence out the influence of freedom from within West Berlin and to fence in their citizens who would seek that freedom. The Berlin Wall did stem the tide of defection to the West, but it did not eliminate the migration. People still went over the wall and through the checkpoints even at the peril of their lives. Over 5,000 people succeeded in escaping over the wall, with an estimated death toll ranging from 136 to more than 200.

The prospects of freedom created the force of a tide that was too great for the Berlin Wall to contain. Finally one of our truly great presidents, Ronald Reagan, said, “Mr. Gorbachov, tear down this wall.” And the wall came down! A euphoric people and souvenir hunters chipped away parts of the wall; the governments later used industrial equipment to remove most of what was left. Walls don’t keep people in and they get torn down at some additional expense.

Israelite/Palestinian fence barriers

Physical barriers designed to separate Israelis and Palestinians were ineffective. People went over, around, under and through the fences. The tide was diminished, but those with mal intent simply tunneled under. Between 2007 and 2013, more than 1,532 tunnels were running under the border to mitigate the impact of the blockade on Gaza.

Walls are not sufficient to withstand the tide of people seeking freedom and the prosperity that freedom brings. People seeking the freedom and/or the prosperity that we enjoy in America will go over, under, around the wall, and through the checkpoints even at the peril of their lives.

A wall to isolate Mexico from the United States of America will only slow the tide of migration, particularly of the disadvantaged.

The tide of drugs and crime will be little affected by a wall because these activities will suck enough of our economic strength to entice and enable the perpetrators to overcome physical barriers. Drugs and criminals will go over, under, around, and through the wall, and through the check points even at the peril of their lives.

America was not built on walls. America did not become great by building walls; the United States of America has long stood for acceptance, uplift and welcome to those seeking our blessings of freedom and opportunity. Immigrants have, over time, bolstered our productive capacity and the efficiency of our production.

The poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, written in 1883 for an auction to raise funds for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, was a tribute to the symbolism of Lady Liberty, calling her name “Mother of Exiles.” These poetic words are there inscribed:

‘Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!’ cries she
With silent lips. ‘Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’

These words would fail in the sight of a barrier across our southern boundary meant to exclude the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Where is the welcome that my European ancestors experienced on their arrival at many United States ports of entry? Truly we are a nation of immigrants and descendants of immigrants. How can America exclude further immigration of the tempest-tost yearning to breath free?

Submitted by FRED L GOWERS, St. George, Utah.

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