MR. GORBACHEV, TEAR DOWN THAT WALL.(President Ronald Reagan to Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, June 12,. 1987),
Since then, two new walls - actually fences - have become bones of contention: one between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) and one between Mexico and the U.S.
Liberals hate them and Conservatives - while perhaps not "loving" them - recognize the necessity for them.
An admittedly biased comparison follows with a few photographs taken from the WWW.
Click on images to enlage
Why the fences?
U.S.-Mexico
There are several reasons the U.S. government - over several administrations, both liberal Democrat and conservative Republican - have supported the border fence.
The "politically correct" reason is to prevent - or at least reduce - the amount of drugs being smuggled into the U.S. via Mexico. Weapons also are smuggled across the border; the question is, in which direction are the weapons being transferred?
The other reason, which may or may not be politically correct depending on your liberal/conservative stance, is to reduce the flow of Mexicans illegally entering the U.S. for economic reasons. Since Americans employ these illegal aliens - sorry, the current PC term is "undocumented residents" - at least part of the problem must be laid at the door of U.S. citizens.
California and Arizona bear the brunt of the Mexican influx; their taxpayers must fund health care and education benefits for the illegals, although as they migrate to other states (e.g., Florida), those states' taxpayers get to share the extra tax burden.
Meanwhile, presidents of both major parties put the illegals on a "fast track" to citizenship. Statistically, most become good citizens, but the people who come to the U.S. legally are punished by being told their applications for citizenship are delayed because their home country's quota has been reached,
The quote system is a holdover from a previous century and effectively worked to prevent escapees from the nazis from reaching America's shores.
Israel-PA
If a picture really is worth 1,000 words, the graphic above tells both the reason for, and the value of, the fence
As an aside, look carefully at the death toll; note that CIVILIAN victims far outnumber security personnel (IDF and Border Police) victims, clearly showing the terrorists' victim preference .
From September 2000 to mid-2005, hundreds of Palestinian suicide bombings and terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians killed more nearly 1,000 innocent people and wounded thousands of others. In response, Israel's government decided to construct a security fence that would run near the “Green Line” between Israel and the West Bank to prevent Palestinian terrorists from easily infiltrating into Israel proper. The project had the overwhelming support of the Israeli public and was deemed legal by Israel's Supreme Court. (Jewish Virtual Library)
Admittedly one reason for the U.S.-Mexican fence is to cut down on criminal activity, but - in general - Mexican criminals are far less dangerous to the typical U.S. citizen within America's borders (Americans in Mexico are a different story) than a Palestinian (or Hamas/Gaza) terrorist in Israel.
The first section of the Israel-PA fence went up in 2003. By 2012, 440 km (273.4 mi) (62%) of the barrier had been completed, 57 km (35.4 mi) (8%) was under construction and 212 km (131.7 mi) (30%) had not yet been started.
Israel-Hamas/Gaza
The fence along Israel's southern border with Hamas' Gaza and Egypt's Sinai is likewise to keep terrorists out of Israel. Since Hamas builds tunnels into Israel with construction materials allowed into Gaza to rebuild facilities destroyed by Israel in retaliation for continued (and continuing) missile attacks on Israeli civilian targets, the fence is only partially successful.
From the Sinai Israel also is invaded by emigrants from Muslim countries who illegally enter Israel for economic gain - much like many Mexicans enter the U.S.
While they are not pretty, they are more or less effective in reducing - albeit not halting - terrorists and people who simply want to better themselves; in America by doing work U.S. citizens refuse to do.
There is some truth in the expression: "good fences make good neighbors." They may not be "politically correct" to some, but these are the same people who, in the U.S., hire the illegals to do their work and in Israel to endanger Israeli - Jewish, Muslim, and others - lives.
Unlike the Berlin Wall, it is not time to "tear the fences down."
