Monday, March 10, 2008

The debacle surrounding the border fence ["Virtual Fence Along Border to Be Delayed," front page, Feb. 28] illustrated a point that historians have long known but the Bush administration appears to have overlooked: No wall or fortress can survive the determination of people to overcome it.

In their time, the Great Wall of China and the Maginot Line were considered technological marvels sure to keep outsiders and invading armies at bay. These crumbling monuments survive as curiosities reflecting the folly of their builders. The Great Wall of America is likely to suffer the same fate.

The larger issue is not whether the fence will work but rather who has the moral authority to build it. The vast majority of Americans are, at root, aliens. Whether our ancestors arrived centuries ago on the Mayflower or we came yesterday hidden in the trunk of a car, our purpose is not to do harm but simply to pursue a better life. The government may assume the power to decide who stays and who must leave, but no one has the right.

JIM CRAWFORD

Haymarket