My maternal grandparents were immigrants from Russia. Yiddish was their native language. They reverted to it whenever they didn’t want me to know what they were saying. It made me feel a little unwelcome.
My grandfather was welcomed to the United States with a call-up to serve in the Army when the United States entered World War I. He saw battle in France and was proud of his service for the rest of his life. I am quite sure that neither my grandmother nor my grandfather ever had a complaint about the United States. They were proud citizens.
The United States faces a crisis of illegal immigration. It undermines our sovereignty, our security, our finances, our schools, our understanding of and respect for citizenship, our commitment to law and law enforcement. Those who support it mean to break down our inbred loyalties and natural commitments. They do not have our best interests at heart.
The Free Beacon’s Alana Goodman reports on the insidious “Belonging Begins With Us” ad campaign (video below). As I understand it, the ad supports illegal immigration and stigmatizes opposition to it as, you know, bigoted.
I learn from Goodman’s story that the “ad campaign bankrolled in part by the megadonor Charles Koch has been tormenting NFL fans for the past two years by playing on a near-constant loop during commercial breaks.” The 2020 YouTube video comes with this explanation: “Belonging Begins With Us is a new campaign dedicated to fostering a more welcoming nation where everyone – regardless of their [sic] background – can belong.”
Belong to what? Everything about this ad is wrong. In the face of a real national crisis the ad serves up a fictitious ordeal. Walk a mile in my shoes indeed. I’m feeling left out. Go to hell would be more like it.
As always, I appreciated Goodman’s effort to let us hear from the objects of her story: “The Charles Koch Foundation and Belonging Begins with Us did not respond to requests for comment.”
NOTE: Several variants of the ad are accessible here.
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